ANGIE J. LEWIS :::
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR TO THE GRIP
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. I left the doctor’s office in a stupor. I couldn’t even remember where I had parked. I sat in my truck and read the report over and over and over. The first person I called was my mother then my sister.
I remember saying, “There’s some scary sh*t in this report,” and I asked that we meet at my mom’s house. They reacted with the same emotion I did: fear and disbelief.
Today, I’m a SURVIVOR.
In 2014, my mother, Janet Lewis, was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My dad and I stood in the kitchen listening while she sat on her bed getting the news from her doctor. I’ll never forget the look on my dad’s face. There stood a man who has spent his life taking care of us now faced with something he can’t fix. My mom came out of the bedroom, shrugged and said “Well…”.
This may sound strange, but throughout her battle I found myself feeling grateful for the fact that I’d had breast cancer. I believe that it was going to happen to both of us at some point and that God stepped in and determined the timing.
The things we learned through my treatment a few years prior were helpful to her treatment and recovery. The nurses at the oncologist’s office would tease me as they always did. I think this put my mom at ease. She had been in that chemo room with me many times. This time, the chairs were reversed.
Today, she’s a SURVIVOR.
Today, WE are both SURVIVORS.
We walked our first Relay For Life together as mother and daughter survivors in 2015.
“I’ve got this!” was my motto during my breast cancer. Today, my mom and I have a new motto: “WE’VE got this!”
We Relay because Relay For Life not only raises money for the American Cancer Society, but Relay For Life hosts an annual event where survivors, those still in battle and loved ones can come together on common ground. Cancer can be a very isolating disease and there is a sense of camaraderie that exists at Relay For Life to remind us WE’VE GOT THIS!
Spalding County Relay For Life is from 6:30 p.m. to midnight today, Friday, May 17, at Wyomia Tyus Park. Come out to celebrate, support and encourage those who have fought and are fighting now, and to honor those gone too soon.
For additional information, please visit relayforlife.org.