by Nancy, an ambassador of MyBCTeam

He held his breath
She blurted: I should have this lump checked out
Her tears fell as he held her,

For she knew without a doubt

They went for Ethiopian

Because she had once stated

She was curious to try it

So there they ate, deflated

The days crawled by in torture

Then, the last invasive test

Confirmed her worst suspicion:

She had cancer in her breast

“Whatever I must do to fight,

No problem, bring it on!

Mastectomy or chemo

I just want this tumor gone!”

Sleep eluded her completely

Grotesque question plagued her mind

Will I go straight to heaven?

What of those I leave behind?

Then, good news from the doctors

It’s a very early stage!

You have time to weigh your options

Due to good health and your age!

With zero hesitation, she instructed:

“Take them both.

I will not risk my healthy breast

Developing a growth.”

The surgery went smoothly

There was pain, but she’d be fine

The next day was her birthday

She was only thirty-nine

A few days hence, recovering,

Her husband took the call

“They found a small invasion.

You’ll need chemo after all.”

A crushing blow, betrayal

By what her cells could do

Though grateful for the medicine

There is much they don’t know, too

Her husband was her everything

He researched and he read

He cooked and cleaned and made her laugh

He even shaved his head

She renamed chemo “chocolate sauce”

It simply sounded better

Oh, cancer made a big mistake

She’d never let it get her

She cut her hair in stages

Crazy long to short and sweet

She wept, as all the last of it

Drifted to her feet

Her tummy and her veins were pissed

These meds are an intrusion!

She battled with increased fatigue

And chemo brain confusion

Immunity was compromised

Most days she stayed indoors

She missed her life, activities

She even missed her chores!

Despite the inconveniences

Her days were filled with laughter

Creating lists of all the things

She planned to do right after

Whenever she had energy

She’d take a good, long walk

If fear was overwhelming,

She and God would have a talk

Her friends and family visited

Some days she’d have a drink!

Her sister held a fundraiser

To benefit the Pink

Then, finally, the day came

For her sixth and final round

She’d live again! She made it

With all the strength she’d found

Six weeks later, nervous,

To CrossFit she returned

And gave the workout all she had

Although her muscles burned

The gym is not for crying

But that day, the cheers were loud

She fell into a sweaty heap

Exhausted, happy, proud

To the bucket list! Continue!

As she holds each silver lining

There’s a lot more life for living

And this cancer’s not defining

The journey’s filled with winding roads

The future disappears

She plans to handle it with grace

For many, many years!