Betty Cannon
Summer 2008

As my husband, Terry, and I sat on the love seat in Dr. Cindy Lorino's office, we held hands. Dr. Lorino entered with compassion in her eyes. Terry held one hand and Dr. Lorino held the other. I knew it was coming.... and it did. "It is breast cancer". One tear rolled out of my right eye in slow motion. We were prepared to hear this, I thought, but still it was hard. As I looked to Terry he gave me that look that we were in this thing together. I believe the only reason I didn't completely fall apart was that my faith had been strengthened in knowing that my family & friends were praying for us as we got the diagnosis.
Lots of tears followed in the days to come as I woke every day with cancer being the first thing on my mind. There were so many questions and no way to know until I went through more tests. Needle Biopsy, MRI, centinal node biopsy, partial mastectomy, complete mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, reconstruction . . . all of these medical terms, some of which I had never heard, were now part of my daily conversations with family & friends.

As I reached out to others for their prayers and support, they reached back to me in unbelievable ways. The encouraging cards, emails, calls, prayers, and yummy meals were overwhelming. My faith was strengthened more and more as the breast cancer journey continued. I can honestly say that I have never felt more loved by God, my family or my friends. This was turning out to be a life-changing event – not just for me but everyone around me.

Several friends who had gone through breast cancer really encouraged me during this journey. They had made it through which gave me so much HOPE. One was a 33 year survivor! There was a special bond with these women who had dealt with breast cancer. The encouragement I got from them was on a whole new level.

I first heard about the Women of Hope from one of these survivors. Even before my first major surgery, I knew I wanted to be a part of an organization whose main mission is to bring HOPE to women battling breast cancer.

May we continue to be WOMEN OF HOPE.

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