[KellyA]

Michelle,

Excuse me for being so direct, and I hope that I don't make you mad, but I would want someone to say this to me. YOU GO FOR THOSE CHECKUPS AND PAPS! Never say whats the point. I know that its easy for someone else to offer advice, and I am not in your shoes, but it is so important, for so many reasons, to live life like you normally would and with every expectation that you are going to be around for a very long time, and I believe in my heart, that you will. I have no idea what the future holds for me, whether I will have a reoccurance or not, and honestly, I am often terrified thinking about it. But one day, in the middle of a "fetal position breakdown", a switch went off, and something came over me. I got very angry, and very resolute. This may kill me in the long run, but I will not go out without a fight, and I will not give away any of my time. When I think of all of the people who are doing well with cancer, it is almost always the people that continute to LIVE, and the people who continue on with life as they would have without cancer. You go for that pap smear, because it is what you would do without the cancer. You would do it because you value your life and because it is such an important thing to do. Your life and your future are no less important today than they were before cancer. To me THAT is the point, and THAT, if for no other reason, is why you should go.

Love, Kelly