Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of the Breast Cancer Awareness month of October; I am deciding to write a blog about the two women whom I personally know. They did not know each too well, but they both have one thing in common, breast cancer. One of them was a survivor and the other had died from the breast cancer which has mastatized (sp) into the liver.

These two women are my great aunt Ruth Edgar, and my husband’s mother, Barbra Cutshall. They did not know each other well except they have seen each other at our pre-wedding party and our wedding. Those were the only times that they have met each other. Neither of them knew that the other has breast cancer. I missed them both now.

Barbra Cutshall is Ken’s mother, she has had both of her breasts removed and she has gone through several rounds of chemo-therapies. She is a trooper despite all the hardship of the medical treatments in order to cure her of those cancer cells. Her spirit was strong and lively. She has had a smile on her face. We were able to bring her to the house one Christmas before she had passed away. She had really enjoyed herself and so full of life. I know that there is so much about her that I wished I’d just sit with her and chat for a long time. Even if I’ve known her for a short time, it seems that I’ve known her a long time. She was one of the wonderful women who have fought valiantly against those breast cancer cells. She has had one breast removed earlier before I have met her, and then she had the other one removed when she learned that it was also malignant.

Just as they have thought all the cancer cells were removed, they were mistaken. One day, a child’s plastic ball has hit in the side about where the liver is. So she was in pain and the pain was not going away. She had decided to get that checked out. It turned out that cancer has reared its ugly head. Those malignant cells have traveled to her liver and have caused major damages to it. So she was back on chemo-therapy, which has destroyed what was left of her immune system. She had learned of this in 1994 and she has died from liver cancer in February 12, 1995. I am not sure how long that she has had breast cancer and when she has discovered it. She would have been 70 years old in May.

Then, there was another one of the women that I know very personally well, and that was my great aunt. Her name is Ruth Edgar. She was a breast cancer survivor for many years. She has had one breast removed when they have discovered that she has cancer in her one breast. So she has gone through cancer treatments in order to eradicate any stray cells. So she was in remission for over 10 years before the other breast became infected. So she again went through another round of cancer treatments before she was declared in remission for another 8 years. Yes, she was a breast cancer survivor. I know this women most of my life as one of my favorite aunts. She would take us out fishing and cook some fish that were caught. She loved the outdoors as she stayed outside to fish, go boating, or just sit outside to watch everyone else fish and chat with people. She has this wonderful lively personality, and easy-going. She loves people and would like to hang out. She has enjoyed fishing at the river on the property.

As she has aged, alcoholism has taken its toll on her intestinal tract for she is the heavy drinker for many years. She was 82 at the time of her death in 2005.

So you see that both women have had breast cancer and neither knew each other well. I love them both as women who have fought the affects of breast cancer. One of them died from liver cancer, and the other has survived it. I know that it is very hard to understand how these women cope with the cancer that they had to live with. So whenever I hear about the Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is October; I thought of these two women, Aunt Pat and Barbra. They both were fighters in their own ways.

So this makes me more determined to make sure that I get checked every year, and check myself every month. I am determined to make sure that I do not have it. I hope and pray that I don’t have it. If I do, I will be determined to fight this every step of the way, and be another survivor!

So I dedicate this blog entry to Ruth (Aunt Pat) Edgar and Barbra Cutshall. I pray that this encourage other women to be strong when they’re fighting this scourge, and encourage all the women to have their checked every chance they get. It is not too late. May God bless you and your family. I pray healing for all of those women who are now under-going treatments and fighting. Please don’t give up. Be strong and smile!