Better and Better

Lately I've been thinking a lot about a friend of mine, Joy Sandberg, who died of brain cancer in September 1999. Joy was such an inspiration to me and as I experience this journey with breast cancer I think of her so often. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1991, just after her 40th birthday.

The doctors told her she had at most a year to live and she defied all odds and lived for almost 9 years, had a child who was 8 years old at the time of Joy's death, and she embodied hope and courage for all those years as she lived with her diagnosis. Every time I spoke with Joy and asked her how she was feeling, her reply was always, "Better and better." When I compare my experience to her incredibly brave journey I realize that she was brought into my life to teach me a lesson - that no matter how down you get, no matter what the doctors say, that hope and faith in yourself is such a powerful thing.

Today I participated in a 5K walk to raise money for breast cancer research and I thought of Joy all the way around Washington Park as the throngs of people surrounded me, everyone dressed in pink which is the universal color of breast cancer.

I feel so fortunate to have shared Joy's journey and know that she is looking down at me from wherever she is. It's quite humbling to think about how graceful and courageous she was, and when I start feeling sorry for myself all I need to do is remember how she handled her situation. So tonight I'm saying a special prayer in her honor and I'm just feeling damn lucky to be alive and have the positive prognosis that I have.