"I live in church....it's where God speaks to me."   |   Thursday, June 14, 2012

Joyce, age 64, discovered her own lump in 2009, as many women do... a small lump in her breast and a casual trip to the doctor. Originally, just drained and said to be benign, she moved on, thinking nothing more of it. But when that same breast became unusually painful, she was alarmed. In March 2011, mammography found a Stage 2, breast cancer, with 3 of 10 nodes involved. She was devastated... I just wanted to know, "Am I going to die? Cancer in my mind, was a death sentence."


Now, having undergone 3 surgeries and then a mastectomy, 35 rounds of chemo and 32 radiation treatments, she's come out a different lady on the other side!


"I walked my first Komen walk this year and met so many other people. It was so encouraging to know that there were so many people who care about us.... I cried the whole time.... There was so much love there!" Her faith is very important to her and she spends much of her time in her church, Grace Tabernacle... "trust in the Lord, He will see you through anything. I really think He was trying to get my attention!"

She's come out so much stronger, as many of these women do. She's taking her journey and documenting it in a book she's writing. Compiled from her journals and writings each day... she plans to tell her story in a format that might help other women, walking in the same shoes. She's making lemonade out of lemons and she's taking better care of herself, having lost 100#, just eating differently.

She readily admits, "I've always been afraid of people hurting me and I never let people get too close, till now." I'm so happy that she's chosen to be stronger because of this! She is the picture of confidence and beauty!

Labels: #bebold, bald woman, bald women, Be Bold Feel Beautiful, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, cancer, susan g. komen, Susan G. Komen Mid-Michigan, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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