As a stay at home mom to 5 wonderful boys and a US Army veteran, I had a great life. That is until March 21, 2007 when my doctor said the words that every woman prays she never hears, "Mrs. Hall, You have breast cancer". I instantly withdrew within, everyone and everything happening around me was muted and seemed to be playing out on a blurry screen with bad reception. It was only a few weeks until my diagnosis went from bad to worse when I was told, "I'm sorry but you are already Stage 4 and your cancer is an aggressive one." My prognosis was bleak. It was at this point that the tears started to flow, but not for me. All I could think of was my children growing up without a mother...without me. Who would put a bandage on their scraped knees? Who would dry their tears when they had their first heartbreak? Who would stand and cheer "That's my boy" when they graduated college? Who would cry tears of joy as they said "I Do"? Who would hold my precious grandchildren and see my sons' in their eyes? This was unbearable! For the past 2 years, I have been on a physical and emotional rollercoaster with incredible highs and unfathomable lows. Thankfully, I have been blessed to have such a wonderful community to support me thru my fight! Thanks to my friends, my church family, my care team at Duke, people I don't even know, and even my pharmacist, I have not been alone. My faith in God has not wavered since the day I put my faith in Him. I am thankful that God has placed so many wonderful caring people in my life to help me in this fight! My fight with this dreaded disease goes on continually, even as my care team now having to rethink the course of my treatment.
This issue of breast cancer was an issue that I was concerned about prior to my diagnosis but has since taken on a whole new meaning. If I can walk away from this with only one thing accomplished, it would be that my fight enabled another woman to have the proper weapons to successfully fight her fight! I owe my past 2 years to the women who fought before me, those who sacrificed to give to research either with their time or finances so that my oncologist could have every opportunity to help me survive, and to God for my life and all of you!
Words can never be enough to express my gratitude. All I can say is Thank You!
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