[harrie]

Tonya,
I was a young adult when my mother went through the experiences of breast cancer and still raising her children. I can't even begin to express how valuable my experiences of seeing how she handled her disease has been for lessons of life and love for me. It has been an extraordinary role model for me to follow as a mother as well as cancer survivor. I may not have been able to do as well as I am emotionally if it were not for her example of strength and the power of love. She did it all for the sake of her kids and with the power of prayer. It reflected a kind of character in her that we all loved and had a tremendous respect for.
My own children are in their early twenties. I am sure it has overall been a good experience for them to expeience my going through breast cancer and the handling of my treatments.
If you are interested in hearing in more detail how my mother did it all while raising 3 young girls as a single mom, all the while maintaining the most positive proactive attitude, I will be more then happy to share some of her life with you. She was truely magnificent and her memory lives very strongly within all of us.
By the way, she was initially diagnosed in her early 40's and she lived a very productive, good life for a long time (over 20 yrs).
Harrie (maryanne)