“He was moaning and groaning. I asked everyone in the room what had happened and what was going on. The head nurse shared that my Dad awoke around 3 a.m. in excruciating pain. That one instance led to my dad’s demise. And it was all my fault. That is what the enemy wanted me to believe.”
‘We are past time for you to call family. Your dad is not going to make it.’ ‘He was fine yesterday. What do you mean he is not going to make it?’: Woman who lost parents to bile duct cancer writes tribute to father, ‘He was my best bud’
‘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’
“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.”
‘I watched as my mom was zipped up in a body bag and carried away. This is the end of us.’: Woman loses mom to Stage 4 colon cancer, ‘My mom would be angry if I didn’t make a beautiful life for myself’
“Instead of celebrating with pizza and cake on my 17th birthday, we sat in the hospital. My addict brother would steal my mom’s medication. A switch flipped in my brain. Suddenly, my wants and needs didn’t matter.”
‘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.'”
‘We thought it was a double ear infection. ‘Your child has a mass in her brain.’ I tried to hold back tears.’: 8-year-old gymnast diagnosed with brain cancer, ‘She was the bravest kid’
“As we walked into the ER, we did not expect to get the news we did. We thought she just needed fluids.”
‘The bullying from doctors was scarring. I felt a lump and started to shake. My self-esteem was rocked.’: Woman battles aggressive breast cancer after serious arm injury, ‘The harder it got, the more people showed up’
“The nurse I was assigned to made fun of my face painting and I got incredibly sick. I stood next to our car, afraid I would fall over while I screamed, ‘NOT ME!’ over and over again in broad daylight. I asked him one question, ‘Am I going to die?’ He didn’t answer.”
‘The nurse approached me with a pitying look. ‘You won’t be receiving your treatment.’ I cried hot, silent, angry tears.’: Woman urges ‘live life to the fullest’ after brave battle with breast cancer
“My husband was about to leave for his weekend trip when he felt my forehead was scorching hot. I felt so cold and feverish. The next few hours were a fog. My treatments were deferred. I was too weak.”
‘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.”
‘He doesn’t have much time.’ Dylan was as fit as a fiddle. ‘What if I never get to see my brother again?’: Woman becomes perfect match for brother’s bone marrow transplant, ‘It was my turn to repay him’
“He had been rushed to the ER. I was confused. Dylan was as fit as a fiddle. Something about seeing Dylan morph into a completely different character sent fear and doubt through my body. The agony of waiting was almost unbearable. What if the transplant doesn’t work?”
‘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.”
