Breast Cancer was my Lemon.  Stronger personal faith and a true understanding of the commitment and dedication of my friends are my Lemonade.

It was almost exactly one year ago today that I heard the words “YOU HAVE BREAST CANCER”….

I’m a single mother with three daughters all in college and working fulltime.  I’m barely holding it all together and just trying to cross the finish line and help get all of my daughters college diplomas.  So I’m selling real estate and working 6 or 7 days a week.  I haven’t taken a vacation in over eight years but am still very happy, because I’m raising three wonderful daughters on my own and getting them the degrees that they will need to pursue a career.

Six months before I received my diagnosis, a friend who I haven’t spoken to in a year-and-a-half called me out-of-the-blue.  He asked how I was doing and how I was feeling.  I said everything is great.  He then proceeded to tell me that he had a dream about me and that I got breast cancer and he asked me to make sure I was keeping up with my mammograms.  I told him that I get one every year and I don’t have breast cancer anywhere in my family but thanked him for picking up the phone and calling me.

After thinking about the conversation for a few days, I thought it might be wise to get an additional cancer rider policy just in case.  So I signed up for an extra policy and never thought about it again.

Fast forward to October and the “Pink Ribbon Luncheon” that I attend every year where all of the women who have had breast cancer stand so we could applaud them.  And little did I know that the following week, I would be one of them.

The following week I went in for my yearly mammogram and went home.  The next day they called me back for a follow up ultrasound and they found a tiny spot.  The radiologist thought it wasn’t cancer but said I should have a biopsy.  So I went to the surgeon’s office two days later and had a biopsy.  She really didn’t think it was cancer either.  At that point, I still was not concerned because I never thought in a million years I would get BREAST CANCER (even after my friend called me).   So when the surgeon called me a few days later and said that she was surprised that it came back positive for CANCER, I was shocked.

The plan at first was just a lumpectomy followed by radiation.  I thought, “I can do this!”  It might throw a wrench into my holiday plans but I got this.  Then the other shoe dropped and they told me I was HER2+ (not good).  Basically HER2 buys you Chemo.  Then I was scared to death!  Where do I start with my fears?  Being deathly ill, no hair, unable to work, no income, medical bills, full year of drugs, no husband to help out, and family living 500 hundred miles away…

Oh and did I mention that I was building a house and moving in just five days before my surgery?

Well, you would think the timing would be horrible with moving and trying to get settled but the opposite was true.  My friends all came over and worked day and night; they had my house looking like a model home in three days!  I’ve never seen a house that was full of boxes be transformed to a calm, beautiful, organized home so fast.  And that was the beginning of me knowing that I would be okay.

I’ve heard it a million times before that you never ever wish to go through cancer but it’s a life changing experience and many, many blessings come from it.

Yes, the chemo is horrible and I swore each time that I wouldn’t do anymore but after three weeks the pain starts to dull and back I went for another round, 6 in all, 3 weeks apart.  I told my friends that chemo is a little like childbirth, you remember that it was bad but it’s not until you’re in labor again do you think to yourself, “how could I do this to myself again, you idiot!”  But then you get the prize and it’s all worth it.

A little secret that no one likes to tell you is that with breast cancer, the average weight gain is between 10 and 20 pounds (it’s the only cancer where you gain weight and not lose it).  Of course I’m as vain as the next person and the only good thing I thought is that I’ll be thin for the spring but nooooo, I was huge by the spring and had no hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. So even though I was thrilled to be finished with Chemo; I was dealing with self-esteem issues and facing 33 rounds of radiation.  The radiation was really no big deal and slowly the weight started coming off, my hair started growing back and I started to feel like myself again.

Looking back over the past year, I don’t think I would change a thing.  Not only do I have a much stronger faith than before, but I have experienced an amazing outpouring of love and kindness.  My three daughters were unbelievable and went from girls to women overnight; so selfless and compassionate.  My family from 500-hundred miles away all took turns coming down and going to chemo with me.  My friends surrounded me day and night with love, laughter and a lot of food.  Acquaintances that I barely knew sent me cards, put me on prayer lists and dropped off kind little gifts.  I reconnected with friends from grade school, high school and college that I had drifted away from over the years. I had the best quarter ever in real estate when I was the sickest. The cancer insurance policy helped me with all of my medical bills.  My co-workers were there for me and picked up any slack at any time for anything I needed.

I made amazing friends in the chemo room that I looked forward to seeing each time and talking with over the phone when no one else could relate to what we were feeling.  The doctors and nurses that deal day in and day out with cancer patients are some of the most wonderful people in the world.  AND I’m cancer free!

So, my lemonade is all of the blessings that have come along with my cancer and I will be forever grateful for those few words “YOU HAVE BREAST CANCER”.