“I was 15 and no one took me seriously. One day, the neurologist came back in and said, ‘Miranda, there’s no easy way to say this. We found something in your spine.’ Panic. Blackness. I nearly passed out. I was treated without any consent, which still haunts me to this day. I was hallucinating for 36 hours straight.”
‘Miranda, stop it. You can’t be in that much pain. You’re being a killjoy. Knock it off.’ I was popping Advil. I lost all feeling in my leg.’: Teen battles Ewing’s Sarcoma after being written off, ‘I am a survivor, not a statistic’
‘That’s not normal.’ I took her to the ER. ‘Mommy, I want my fingers and toes to get all wrinkley.’: Mom thankful for those who helped ‘walking miracle’ daughter beat cancer
“‘She was feeling better, but there was light vomit here and there. Then, on the afternoon of Saturday, March 24th we were at a party and I noticed her right eye moving inward, Slow down, I’m dizzy,’ she said.”
‘I texted my husband. ‘I’m really scared. I can’t sleep at all.’ I had NO symptoms. ‘I’m sorry, the biopsy tested positive.’: Breast cancer survivor advocates for early detection, ‘Cancer has taught me what is most important in life’
“That night, I could not sleep at all. So many things ran through my head. I was also grieving the sudden death of my father. ‘I’m sorry, the biopsy tested positive.'”
‘The doctor said, ‘It’s just a matter of time.’ She started reaching for things in the air. I thought it was the end.’: Mom of five-time leukemia warrior says ‘Ali’s light has remained a constant through it all’
“Holding down my screaming daughter for the third time that night felt like torture. Little did I know, that night was just the beginning. She kept looking at me confused, wondering why I was allowing someone to do this to her.”
‘Surgery will leave you with a colostomy bag.’ A bag on my stomach I poop into for the rest of my life?’: Mom of three conquers colorectal cancer, ‘I was going to beat this, there was no other option’
“I thought I was too young for cancer. Turns out, I wasn’t. I didn’t know how I was going to survive this and be left with a good life after, if I did survive.”
‘I was the superficial party girl. I lost my fabulous cleavage and all my beautiful hair, the two things I felt made me beautiful.’: Woman finds self-love after battle with breast cancer, ‘It gave me the kick I needed to transform’
“I wasted most of life achieving nothing. There was no dancing on the bar with cleavage showing and crazy, curly hair. I had to find another way to make myself happy, I had nowhere else to look but within myself.”
‘I love you, and I promise I will be back.’ My son looked up in terror as they carried me out. I came to the horrifying realization I made a bold promise.’: Woman survives Ewing’s Sarcoma, leg amputation, ‘Life is too short to not do what makes you happy’
“I was crying and screaming as they carried me out. ‘You’re exaggerating and pain pill seeking.’ I only had a week to get my affairs in order. I made sure my son would remember me.”
‘She is simply too complicated.’ They didn’t see me as a little girl anymore. I was nothing but a body.’: Childhood leukemia survivor’s most important lesson, ‘Emotions are meant to be felt’
“I made a promise to myself. If I was cleared from having the chance of developing a second cancer, I’d get a tattoo. I met a lady who asked me a question that changed my life and perspective forever. ‘Why are you the way that you are?’ she asked. From then on, we became connected by the heart. We were able to help heal each other.”
‘You need to have it looked at, and quickly!’ My heart dropped. I went from a ‘normal’ person to being disabled.’: Young woman survives rare bone cancer twice, ‘Cancer taught me to live each day like it’s my last’
“’How could I have bone cancer at age 25?!’ I called my mom immediately after, sobbing in my car. She was shocked. I was finally able to get married after delaying my wedding, but I still had persistent pain. The surgeon said, ‘We cannot be sure if some cancer was left behind.’. It taught me to cherish every day I have on this earth. Things can change in a blink of an eye.”
‘Why are you involved? Isn’t it depressing?’ I was dying and it wasn’t the cancer. It was the state of my life.’: Woman survives esophageal cancer, jumpstarts organization to help others
“I was separating from my husband, all the while wondering whether I was going to live or die. I was sharing a room with a woman who’d been told, ‘You have an incurable blood disease. Death is certain.’ I recall shrinking beneath my blankets, not wanting to bring attention to myself on the other side of the thin layer of privacy hanging between us. She told them ‘I have no family to call,’ and when the doctors left, we sat there in silence. I knew I was destined to do more.”
