Thank you from the bottom of my heart

I finally got to say the biggest thank you I've been wanting to say since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm going to bring it up again.

In October 2005, I was Enrichment Leader for our ward. We planned to have a couple of people from the American Cancer Society come and talk about how to do self exams and to get brochures since it was breast cancer awareness month. It was an unusual activity and I don't know if anyone had done anything like this in a while. I knew we had a couple of survivors in our ward and it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. So we had the activity, two ladies came in and talked and it went off well. They handed out necklaces that special signifigance in relation to how big a tumor is when you get examined by a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI, or self exam. It sounds icky, but the necklaces are really nice.

So a few months went by and one of the ladies emailed me and asked me a question or something, I think to let me know about an upcoming activity the ACS was organizing. I don't think I ever emailed her back because life was busy at the time. Fast forward to March 2006. I was taking a shower and did a half hearted self exam and found a pimple at the time. I was checking it out and I could feel a lump deep in my breast. From there on, I went to various doctors till I found out I had breast cancer and life changed forever.

But it was because of that church activity that I knew more about breast cancer and had the brochures and knew what to do. It was because of those ladies coming, that things changed for me. Last October, dh would bring goodies every Friday that supported breast cancer awareness. All the Hershey Kisses in pink wrappers, Peppermint Pattys, M&Ms, etc. This year he's going to do the same thing but wanted to bring some brochures with his boss's permission.

So I called the American Cancer Society and asked if they had anything. I told them why I was calling and a little bit of my story. I told them I never got to say thank you for those ladies coming. The lady on the phone asked me to describe who the ladies were and when it was. I gave her as much information as I could recall. She knew one of the ladies and transferred me to her phone line. I started to cry but I told her my story and how I knew her. I was able to tell her thank you for coming to that activity and because of her and her work and her partner, I found my lump when I did and took care of things. It sounds silly on paper, but it meant so much to me. I couldn't remember their names, but they helped me get on the path and to know what to do when things started to happen.

So I was able to say thank you to someone that I've wanted to for 18 months. I feel like I'm on such a high and so grateful for them. I think she was surprised that I called, but they said it's wonderful to hear the success stories and it felt good to say thank you finally.