Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month, so I want to encourage you all to schedule your mammograms and continue your self examinations at home! Enjoy this beautiful testimony from 7 year breast cancer survivor, Geri Harper.

The phone call that changed my meaning of life — “Miss Miller, I am sorry to inform you, the results are positive.” I drove straight through a red traffic light. Breast Cancer? Me? Are You Serious? This must be a mistake. I had just ran a half marathon for my friend’s 40th birthday. I was training for the Peachtree Road Race. I religiously walked up and ran down Stone Mountain twice a day. How could I have breast cancer?

My friends expected for me to give them the good news that the results were negative. I went into my own private little world. I did not answer my phone for hours. I sat in a restaurant and for the first time probably ever in my life, I lost my appetite as tears of fear and disbelief rolled down my face uncontrollably. It wasn’t the thought of being bald, losing my eyelashes or eyebrows that got to me. It was the initial thought of having to tell my daughter, Brooke, that I’d been diagnosed with stage 3 Breast Cancer.

Wait….. “I can’t die yet.” I have too many unfulfilled dreams and vision inside of me, too many women in shelters to speak to, homeless people to feed, women to encourage about eating healthily, working out and pursuing their dreams. I have to go to Paris. I have to see Brooke get married and enjoy my grandchildren. How I will tell her? Will she be able to handle it? What about my mom and dad, my sisters and brothers…OMG! What will people think about me? I eat healthy and I work out! I have more dancing to do! These are thoughts that began to deeply overwhelm me. With no history of breast cancer in my family, being diagnosed with this disease that I knew nothing about was simply devastating and unbelievable. Now, after working for 25 years completely healthy with full benefits, I had just got laid off. How will I pay the medical bills? I asked God again, don’t you think I have been through enough? The basic principle of life that I know to be true is that trials and tribulations exclude no one.

Telling Brooke was the hardest task ever. Thankfully, she was away for a week at a leadership conference. I decided to let her enjoy the week away and told her on the drive back. That was the longest drive ever! She cried in my arms for 4 hours.

Who knew that the restless seed that I carried for nine months would carry me through years of life’s most challenging assignments. Brooke along with my family, faith and friends have been my strength, my rock, and my reason for refusing to accept defeat. Brooke would come in my room every morning, with gratitude and excitement screaming, ” Oh Goody Mommy, you made it! God allowed you to see another day.” My spirit would jump with determination despite fatigue.

Brooke wanted to go with me to my first chemotherapy appointment. Reluctantly, I allowed her to go. My oncologist explained in explicit detail the intense 14 day cycle treatment plan, 3 different types of chemotherapy and drugs that I had to take for 8 months. The side effects would include mouth and hand sores, nausea, vomiting, susceptibility to infections, hair loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss and the list goes on. Brooke decided that she did not want me to experience any of the side effects so she prayed sincerely and declared that I would have none of the side effects that the oncologists listed. Because of her faith, after 8 months of chemotherapy, I had none of the side effects and I did not lose one strand of hair.

She wrote songs for me, my favorite being, “You’re a Strong Girl.” Every time I listen to the song, tears of joy and strength overtook me. The song literally strengthens my mind. Poems and letters of encouragement were healing to my soul. She told me that God chose me for this assignment because He knows that I am a “strong girl” and he chooses the hardest battles for the strongest people.

Through consistent prayer, it was finally confirmed within my spirit with resounding peace that “God trusts me with this assignment.” I immediately decided to dance my way to victory! Since it was confirmed that Stage 3 Breast Cancer was not an ending but actually the beginning of the best days of my life, I decided to celebrate the victorious outcome before I started my assignment. What was intended to be a small victory party turned out to be an outpouring of love and support from the most amazing support group ever! I am still in awe of the love and support that I receive. The night of my victory party, my friends and family wrote cards of encouragements so that I could read them during my treatment. There is healing in the power of love and support. I knew this would be an amazing victory journey and I would never stop dancing!

I am a believer and a witness that if you “take care of your body, your body will take care of you.” After my diagnosis I began my own personal research. I googled everything that was created to cure cancer. I immediately incorporated the proponents of an alkaline diet, eliminated all processed sugars, juiced daily and I drank what I now call my “warrior smoothies.” I meditated and prayed daily and protected my peace and energy.

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer or know someone who has, take heart as I am a living testimony that what used to be dismal death sentence, no longer is. I have been cancer free for 7 years and I am overwhelmed with gratitude and no one will ever convince me that God is not real. He is FAITHFUL! I feel absolutely amazing, healthy, whole and complete. I didn’t fully understand what it meant 8 years ago when I heard the words, “This is an assignment,” but now I do. I have work to do. We all have work to do. There is war going on and cancer is now an epidemic. Our health is our greatest wealth! In the last 40 years, scientist have learned more about why and how breast cancer develops while making tremendous strides in diagnosis and treatment. Research has led to better treatments, a lower chance of death from the disease and an improved quality of life for millions of breast cancer survivors, including women and men with recurrent breast cancer.

We all need healing in some area of our lives. Healing begins in the mind. Surround yourself with positive people, think positive and refuse to be defeated. Exercise, limit your sugar intake, be good to yourself and even better to others.

Most importantly, never forget to smile, laugh and dance your way to victory.