Breast cancer is no stranger in Sheila's family. Her older sister Gwenda is a long term survivor after mastectomies decades ago. Her niece Pamela is now a twelve year survivor after an incredible ordeal. Sheila is coming up on a five years cancer free after her bout with the disease.
When we got the news, Sheila, Pam and I drove down to spend an hour with Daphene. Serious illness is a time for family and friends. The girls only spent an hour with Daphene but it was a good hour. There were tears and there was laughter. Daphene was scheduled for a colonoscopy today so we all had to watch Jeff Foxworthy's classic (and hilarious) account of his. A good laugh was needed and good old Jeff provided it. As we were leaving, Pam took the Breast Cancer survivor's bracelet off her own arm and put it on Daphene's.
There are dark days coming for Daphene. The good news is that it was detected early and it is a common and very manageable form of cancer. The bad news is that managing breast cancer, even with the best of care in the best of facilities, is an ordeal. While Sheila had world class care in state of the art facilities supervised by some of the best cancer specialists in the world, it was still a dark, dark time. The good news however was and is that Gwenda, Pam and Sheila are alive today living reasonably normal lives. While Daphene's life will never be the same afterward, in a likelihood there will be a life afterward and it can be a good life. Gwenda, Pam and Sheila are living proof.
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