BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH: More than Just a Boob: A Woman’s Journey to Survive Breast Cancer

To all of the dear women who have or who have survived breast cancer, this article is for you:

My Sister’s Diagnosis: Breast Cancer

In December my dear sister LaNell was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer detected in a mammogram. In early January she had a mastectomy and 19 of her lymph nodes were removed. The surgery left her bruised and battered, physically scarred, emotionally wounded and spiritually depleted.

Now, everywhere I go I seem to encounter women who have breast cancer or who have survived breast cancer or who lost a loved one to breast cancer.

The last nine months have been a nightmare of ongoing treatment for my sister, with two consecutive rounds of chemotherapy, followed by radiation treatment, and now she is undergoing immuno therapy, chemo therapy with oral medicine and physical therapy to regain use of her arm. The cancer and treatment have turned her life upside down and tested her faith in God.

But, my sister is a strong woman of faith and a prayer warrior. She is like our mother and grandmother. She is a fighter and will not let this disease defeat her. (See my article “God Writes the Best Love Stories” posted on this blog about the miracle of healing of my mother).

Hundreds of people have been praying for my sister's recovery.

God is faithful. He has heard her prayers. The Lord is healing her body. LaNell is now cancer free. But, her treatment is ongoing. Her reconstructive surgery still somewhere in her future.

My Sister’s Blog: More than Just a Boob

My sister has chronicled her journey to survive on her blog ‘More than Just a Boob’: http://www.morethanjustaboob.com/. LaNell and her husband John Miller co-pastor Church on the Rock in Texas.

In the hope that some of you will be encouraged, I have asked her permission to republish excerpts from her blog in this article. Here is her description of what it felt like to be diagnosed with breast cancer and the comfort she received from her husband:

“It was three weeks before Christmas when my doctor said four dreaded words that changed my life forever: “You have breast cancer.” The only other thing I heard the doctor say after that were words like “mastectomy” … “chemo” … “radiation”…

My husband and I left the doctor’s office in shock.

In the parking lot, John took me into his arms and held me close as I cried. I was scared. Actually, downright terrified. All the people I knew that had died of cancer went through my mind. I grieved the loss of my health, the loss of my “normal” life, and dreaded the thought that I would lose my breast. My world was spinning out of control. What about Christmas? What about my mission trip to Thailand? I was facing a battle that was trying to destroy my life.

It was at that moment my husband said one thing that I will always remember:

“You are more than just a boob.”

In those seven simple words, he was telling me that my value as a woman did not come from my outward appearance. Those words gave me comfort and continue to bring a smile to my face now that I am on my post-mastectomy journey.

I am more than just a boob. So I am writing my story in hope that I will help at least one other woman fighting breast cancer know that she is “more than just a boob.”

I am also writing this blog for all the husbands, brothers, sisters, parents, children and friends to help their loved ones with breast cancer hold their heads high and know that they are ‘more than just a boob.’”

My Sister’s Advice to Survivors: Don’t Just Survive … Thrive!

Here is my sister’s advice to survivors of breast cancer posted on her blog:

“Over the past 9 months I have met so many people who have told me that they are a Cancer Survivor … I don’t like the word survive…It’s as if we barely made it out alive. We are just hanging on. When someone would ask me how I was doing these past months and if I replied, “I’m surviving” it meant I was making it, but not necessarily feeling great. I can say I’ve survived the cancer (or better yet I’ve survived the cancer treatment which in my opinion is so much harder), but I don’t just want to survive…I want to THRIVE.

I want to become a stronger person because of what I have gone through. I want my faith to be stronger. I want my compassion for others to be stronger. I want my love for God and others to be stronger. I want my convictions and beliefs to be stronger. I want my roots to grow down deep in my relationship with Christ so that no matter what storms come my way I know that I will stand strong and not fall apart.

Jesus told the parable of two houses, one built on the sand and one built on the rock. I was raised on the beaches of California and a lot of our northern coastline is rocky. You can see beautiful houses built on the rock bluffs and they stand strong and secure even in the coastal storms. But we also have homes built along the coast, especially farther south, that are built on sand dunes and dirt. And all too often when the storms come along, the houses will slide down the mountain because they were not built on rock. It is much easier to build a house on sand, digging the foundation is no big deal. But when you build a house on rock, you have to blast away at the rock to build a solid foundation. It’s hard work and takes more time. But when the storms come, the houses built on the rock will stand the test of time.

Cancer was a major storm in my life. It shook my house. The wind and rain at times felt like they were going to consume me. But the storm didn’t win because I have chosen to build my life on The Rock, Christ Jesus. My foundation stood strong and my house did not topple over or slide down the mountain. It’s not because I am so smart or so strong, it is because The Rock held me secure when the hurricane came my way ...

Can we weather the hurricanes in life and keep on standing when everything around us is shaken and washed away by the storm?

I pray that you are choosing to build your life on The Rock. That you are choosing not only to hear the Words of Jesus, but to obey them. Do it now while the weather is clear, before the storm hits. Then you can be assured that when the storm comes, you will stand strong because your life is built upon the Solid Rock... 

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matt. 7:24-25

These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. (The Message Bible)”

My sister's words above are spoken from her heart.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for healing my sister, for her life, for her ministry to other women who have breast cancer and to those who have survived breast cancer, for her strength in you and courage to chronicle her journey. I pray for the women of our town, both those who have breast cancer and for the survivors, and for their families devastated and shaken by this terrible disease. I pray for you to heal their bodies. I pray for you to heal their spirits. I pray for you to give these women and their families the strength to weather the storm. I pray for you to shield these women and families from the storm, give them the faith to thrive even in the midst of a storm that has rocked their lives. Give them the faith to build their homes on the Rock. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Hope

Please forward this article to other women to encourage them in their faith and give them hope of survival, hope of eternal life, and hope that they will someday thrive.

Blessings to all of the lovely women who read this article.  Please feel free to post your comments about healing and survival, comments that will help other women and families thrive.

SharonRose