Share Your Story: Meet Karen

Meet Karen! Karen shares about being a two-time cancer survivor (breast and colon) and how she turned her experiences into poems becoming a published author!

What type of Breast Cancer did you have?

DCIS

Is your breast cancer in remission? If yes, when did you go into remission?

2003

When were you diagnosed and at what age? Can you tell us a little about how you found out and the stage?

I was diagnosed in 2002 and I found out I had it after being given medication for hot flashes. A few weeks later, my breast started bothering me so much. MD stated, I already had cancer in the breast, but the hormone pills brought it to light, and made it grow faster.

What were your thoughts?

I thought right away that my cancer diagnoses was truly a death sentence, because you're not sure if you're going to make it or not. My entire life, all I ever heard about cancer, was someone dying from it. So I became angry asking why me? What had I done so bad in life to have this placed upon me? But I found out later, that it was truly an awakening for me, especially after being diagnosed a few yrs later with colon cancer, and survived them both. I also realized that I was about to face a new beginning, new hope, do and see more with a whole new prospective on life.

Can you tell us about your treatment and how that has gone? Were there any obstacles and how did you overcome them?

My treatment plan only included surgery removal of the breast, no chemo, nor radiation, so I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did have to go through chemo/radiation with my colon cancer.

Do you have children? If yes, how did your journey affect your children?

I can say, my only child/daughter took it pretty well, after she saw that I was going through it OK. Of course when I first told her of the diagnose, she had some tears, but she looked at me, and asked, how I was feeling, and once I had gotten all my crying out before I even told her, I felt that I would be OK, the cancer was in it's early stage; that way, she was OK and we handled it very well together. If it had not been for her, I don't think I would have gone through it so well, she was my strength all the while.

What has been the most helpful for you in the support you have received from family and friends? If any support.

The most helpful thing for me during my journey, was just hearing from family members, asking how you're doing, making me smile, throwing out jokes, making me laugh to get your mind off of it all. Just being there for support when you need it, especially my daughter, then my grand-kids during my colon cancer. I knew I had to get through that, because I'm now a grandmother, so I fought a hard fight and I won.

What message do you have for those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer?

I'm a true example that you can survive cancer, not once, but twice, if you get to it in time. I'm not saying that it will be easy, and I'm not saying all will survive it, I'm just saying, have faith, fight, then hold on, because you're about to face a new beginning, new hope, do and see more with a whole new prospective on life. During and after it all, you will develop and gain strength from all of your experiences.

What would you like to see for breast cancer patients in the future? How can the world help relieve the stress of diagnoses to remission?

I would truly like to see less of breast cancer diagnoses, but I'm not sure if that's possible, but until then, I just wish there were more and better testing for it. A easier way than mammograms, because they're very painful with an already painful situation. I wold love to see the survival rate increase even more.

Anything else you want to add? We'd love to learn more about you.

I turned my experience of surviving two cancer diagnose into poems. I took all those poems that I had written, during my breast cancer period, and I placed them all into book form, writing had become therapy for me. I was blessed enough to have that book of poems published, and I'm hoping that anyone who has the opportunity to read my poems, get out of them, what I placed in all of them. My poems are from the heart, as real as any could be. I later had another inspirational children's book published, and I'm working on my third. I'm not saying I'm in the running for best selling author, because I'm a long way from that. I'm just a regular everyday woman, who has overcome many obstacles that took me to writing. I would have never become a writer, producing inspirational stories, if I hadn't gone through all that I did. I never anticipated becoming a writer, I just became one. I now share my story with others hoping to make a positive impact on someone who's ill or otherwise, where they can proceed life in a whole new way. I'm 62yrs of age now, I'm cherishing each day, yet through it all, I feel that I'm still at my best, very confident, as well as grateful. I'm starting over, doing things I should have done before the diagnose of cancer.

Thank you Karen for sharing your story!

You can find Karen over on instagram