So Tragic...

I did the saddest interview yesterday. It was with this 32 year old mom who has stage four breast cancer that's spread into her liver and lungs. I mean 32 YEARS OLD! That's only 1 year older than I am. The worst part is she had gone to her doctor in August complaining of breast soreness and the doctor totally blew her off!! Told her to put a compress on it. It was only after she was in so much pain she couldn't stand up that they finally tested her and found the cancer.

I hear this happen so many times with women. Doctors blow them off, say it's all in their head. My friend Liana had lime disease and the doc basically told her she had housewife syndrome or whatever. Remember girls, you know your body better than some doctor. If you think something's wrong, don't take "no" as an answer and be your own health advocate.

This woman has a six month old baby and a two year old. She's very optimistic and quite the fighter. She's determined to beat the disease and be there for her babies. But still - it broke my heart to hear her tell her story.

It also put a lot of things in perspective. Frustrations at work, over writing stuff, little things that bug us and stress us out and make us explode. Yet at the end of the day these things are so minor. So an agent rejects your manuscript. Or your boss yells at you cause you had a mistake in the last project you turned in. At least you have your health. At least you're not 32 years old and dying.

Gah! I can't think about it anymore. But anyway - please send your thoughts and prayers to this woman. Her family is having a fundraiser on Saturday (which is why Ch7 is covering the story) because they're strapped for cash at this point. So if any of you want to donate, email me and I'll pass along the contact info.

Marianne