I was diagnosed on April 11, 2006 at the age of 29.

Vanessa

I just finished chemo and will be having surgery in September.

This has been a very hard journey so far. Hopefully, it will get better at some point.

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November, 2006 Update

I had a bilateral mastectomy on August 11, 2006. They found that I still had cancer in five out of eleven lymph nodes.

I will be starting radiation in November and then we are going to do some additional chemotherapy to try to get rid of any remaining cancer cells that might be floating around in my body.

When I was diagnosed in April I thought it was the worst thing in the world. I have since learned so much about cancer that I never would have known.

I have also learned a lot about myself that I could never have learned without going through something this hard.

I believe that God gives each of us specific trials. He knows us so well, and He knows what we need to learn and experience in this world, and He gives us those experiences that will help us grow and progress in this world and in the next.

He has let me experience this because this is the only way that I could learn and grow in the ways that I need to. I have grown so close to the Lord through this experience.

I have learned that I must lean on Him and that only He can take upon Himself all of my pain and anguish and only He can ever truly understand what I am going through.

I know that there is still a long way for me to go before I am out of the woods, but I know that He will be there with me every step of the way.

Please click on the title of the song in order to hear the music.

I Believe

Every now and then,
Soft as breath upon my skin,
I feel you come back again.

And it's like you haven't been,
Gone a moment from my side.
Like the tears were never cried,
Like the hands of time are holding you and me.

And with all my heart I'm sure,
We're closer than we ever were.
I don't have to hear or see,
I've got all the proof I need.
There are more than angels watching over me.
I believe, Ohhh I believe.

Now when you die your life goes on,
It doesn't end here when you're gone.
Every soul is filled with light,
It never ends, and if I'm right.
Our love can even reach across eternity,
I believe, Ohhh I believe.

Forever, you're a part of me.
Forever, in the heart of me.
I will hold you even longer if I can.
Oh the people who don't see the most,
See that I believe in ghosts.
And if that makes me crazy, then I am...
'Cause I believe.......

Ohhhh, I believe...

There are more than angels watching over me.
I believe, Ohhh I believe.

Every now and then,
Soft as breath upon my skin,
I feel you come back again.
And I believe.

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By Diamond Rio