Stories From IBC Patients, Caregivers, Mothers, Daughters — Anyone Touched By Inflammatory Breast Cancer
In Rich’s words: “This weekend (May 20, 2006) my son, Roger, got married. The wedding went off very nicely. A few weeks ago, Roger had told me about what they had planned to do for wedding favors. You know, all along I was looking forward to a mixed emotion time. Roger is a good man and he has married a fine young woman, but I knew that for me there would be something missing. The horrible emptiness that I felt throughout all the planning. Never mentioned it to Roger, but I knew that this wedding would be as difficult as it was happy for me. It sure was, I don’t think I’ve missed Doracina any more in three years as I did this Saturday. Anyhow, when Roger told me what they had planned to do about wedding favors, I teared up and felt a bit better. After all, it was kind of like Doracina was there. Each table at the wedding had the attached card on it.”
Trisha Tester prepared a list for those who want to help: What You Can Do For Me – “I am a metastatic breast cancer patient. Although this means that I am almost certainly going to die of this disease (barring a miracle), I am not a victim. I don’t like that word, and I would prefer that you never use that word around me.”
Mare writes about Friends, Cancer, and the Support Community. – “That is the wonderful part of a support group, whether it’s online or face-to-face. These are people that do understand exactly how you are feeling and what you are going through and are so very able to relate.”
Terri Gaulkin wrote about making a memory book for her mother with IBC. – “For a gift, I made my mother a Memory Book. I snuck into her address book and wrote to everyone I could think of – past and present.”
Kathy Casey writes about her mother, Denise in her story: Over the Rainbow. – “Her name is Denise, and she is more than cancer. She is my ‘mom,’ and she is a fighter with strength I could never imagine. Because of her spirit, I have learned to respect my Mother in a new way.”
Gayla Little wrote about IBC treatment and the battle with depression. – ” ‘In my former profession’ as a mental health counselor, I have worked with a lot of depressed people and I have also been able to observe my own emotional responses since the beginning of treatment and they hold true with what we know about depression in general.“
