"It's not about the hair...."   |   Monday, August 30, 2010

Jill R. spoke right up to tell me, "It's not about the hair... It's about staying alive." Finding her own lump, just 6 short months after her annual mammogram, she speaks about the importance of breast self-exams. "You just can't always trust the mammograms and leave it at that." Exams are important, especially for younger women who don't have regular mammograms! Keep vigilant.

Jill, who has always put others ahead of herself, chose to work during her chemotherapy treatment... "I just knew if I sat down to feel sorry for myself, I might not get back up again." She knows sorrow and she understands hard and emotional work.
Dedicating herself to working with those who are mentally and physically challenged, she knows how difficult it can be. She and her husband adopted an older child with Down's Syndrome and cared for him till he passed away from complications of Alzheimer's disease at age 62. Imagine caring for a child who is older than you? Imagine the special needs he required? But she didn't hesitate when it came to where he would go as a group home closed. She has always put others needs ahead of her own...
So, it was no surprise that she chose to work with those same types of special children all through her treatment.

She also speaks to the importance of finding a support group... "only they can really help you because they are going through the same thing". They too, have cancer. Don't think that you can do this on your own... you'll need more than the support of those around you. "And you have to find the humor in it", she says with a smile that brightens the room. Somehow, I think this is a normal facial expression for her. It fits.

Labels: bald woman, bald women, Be Bold Feel Beautiful, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, Non-profit, The Oldham Project

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