Peggy: Stage 4 IBC Survivor - “Sometimes, I just feel lousy and I get tired of being a cancer patient. But I’m still here, despite my doctor’s initial prediction, and intend to stick around a lot longer.”
Charlotte - “When I met my oncologist, I asked Dr. Chaplinski, ‘Do you believe in miracles?’ He said, ‘I know there are things that happen that are unexplained.’ I told him very firmly, that I did believe in them and he was going to see one happen.”
Linda Rush - “I’ve learned what so many others have learned before me “that the ‘cancer chapter’ never closes” it continues to be written. Some days it occupies only a few sentences of my time other days maybe a paragraph or a page, but there is always a ‘p.s.’ Never a period. And, I’ve found that that’s not all bad.”
Mindy Beers (External Site) - “When I came out of the anesthesia the doctor came in and confirmed my worst fear. I had IBC and we had about a year’s worth of work to do.”
Roberta Humphreys (External Site) - “There were funny moments that eased the stress, like the look on the cat’s face when she tried to lick my bristly head during a moment of catnip-induced feline dementia, ending up with an unexpected hairball on her tongue.”
Norma Snyder (External Site) - Profile of a Woman with Inflammatory Breast Cancer, an Advocate and a Friend; An LBBC Survivors’ Helpline volunteer describes her diagnosis, treatment and life after a diagnosis of IBC from LBBC, Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s website.
Jackie Arnold: Jackie and Barbara, Best Friends Who Shared Everything - “I believe that God sent Barbara back into my life to serve as an example of how to LIVE my life with cancer, and should the time ever come, she has shown me how to die with dignity.”
Ginny Mason: Lose a Breast and Loosen a Tongue - “As I shared with him, he began to cry, and I realized immediately that part of this diagnosis entails taking care of those around us and helping them cope.”
Sandy Savin: The Red Lace Bra - “My story begins on February 6, 2001 in a lingerie fitting room. At age 60, I was looking for my first-ever red lace bra to wear on Valentine’s Day, which is also my husband’s birthday.”
Gayla Little - “I could get an appointment at the Breast Clinic that day. If I didn’t go then, I would have to wait until January. I looked outside, and all I saw was white. The clinic was over an hour away in good driving conditions.”
Jean Lyles: Seventy-two and Cancer-free - 11 Years After IBC - “I am 72 and at present, I am cancer-free. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer in October 1990.”
Laney Cummings: My Life, A Chair, and “All that Jazz” - “I don’t like others to see me cry. I think if I stay positive, they will too. However, this day was different. This was a black day. This was the day I stared Death right in the face and spat at it!”
Dolores Briere: The ABC’s of My IBC - “Mine had metastasized (traveled). SO WHAT DO I DO? What are my options? What is my prognosis? The answer: Not good. BULLFEATHERS! is what I say.”
Barbel Stanley - “I went to see my doctor, and two days later I had a biopsy. The surgeon confirmed to my husband that I had breast cancer before I came out of the anesthesia.”
Sherry Smith: What in the World is IBC? - “My daughter was graduating from pharmacy school, I was scheduled for a two-week business trip to Washington, D.C. , no time to worry about my breast. I mean, my recent mammogram had been negative for breast cancer. I thought that all those symptoms were nothing but a nuisance.”
Noreen Grasse: In His Arms - “I have been bombarded by well-meaning people with tapes, books, articles, relaxation methods, shark cartilage … you name it. Suddenly I was in over-drive. Too much information!!”
Chari Marron: Happy 48th Birthday! - “On June 30, 1999, my 48th birthday, I was having a biopsy done on my right breast. My husband was with me, and we knew it wasn’t good by the way they hurried us to a cancer clinic.”
Liz San Roman: This Can’t Be Happening to Me - “I remember thinking, when I was diagnosed with IBC at 29, that I would never make it to 30. I had a great surprise 30th birthday party and the next thing I knew, I was celebrating my 31st birthday. I now have two birthdays…”
Trisha Tester: Essence of Trish - “I find it very interesting, though, that I resent the loss of my voice much more than the loss of my breast. The breast was a lump of fat; it had served a good purpose in breastfeeding and it was nice to have cleavage. But still - it was never a major part of my identity.”
Laurie Lee: Winning the Relay for Life - “I had to be my own advocate for the treatment I needed. And who better than me? I was the one who would pay the ultimate price if I didn’t receive the best treatment.”
Linda Cox: Miracle Birth and IBC Diagnosis in the Same Year - “Once diagnosed, I felt I had few decisions to make. I had to do the maximum of every possible treatment. I nursed my daughter for the last time right before my first chemotherapy session. Discontinuing nursing was very hard for me.”
Sonja Brady: One day at a Time on My Journey - “I am embarrassed to say that I really have not researched IBC much because I am truly scared. It’s not that I don’t want to be informed, but I have a hard time not worrying about myself.”
Susan Lonon: IBC Changed All of Us - “I went to the office, demanded my films, and took them to another surgeon. I will never forget the words of the receptionist as she chastised me for being impatient. ‘Well, even if it is cancer, it won’t spread THAT fast’.”
Theresa Corbin: IBC Taught Me to Live - “I have learned to cope with this pest and to not let it get me depressed. I do have my days, mind you, but I shall continue to fight this pest with all I have.”
Cathy McEvoy: My “Rebirth” - “On September 4th, I will celebrate a ‘rebirth’ as I like to call it. I call it that because I will be re-infused with my own, stored stem cells. Since I am being ‘reborn,’ I wonder who I will be. Any suggestions?”
Kay McQueen: The Ugliest Word in the English Language - “Then one day I noticed something. I would wake very early, go out, and sit on my second floor screened porch to keep from waking my husband. Each morning a small, gray bird would light on the worn out basketball backboard in our drive.”
Phyllis Johnson: A Sense of Perspective - ” ‘Doctor, my breast itches,’ sounded like such a wimpy worrywart. Besides, I’d just had a clear mammogram two months prior.”
Margaret Lucy: This Can’t Be Happening to Me - “The only thing I could think to say was, ‘Will I lose my hair?’ ”
Dottie Geary - “Three days later my husband and I sat in front of the people that would eventually save my life. They were the doctors of an inner city major hospital. Amazingly, that day, we were given hope.“
