Pink Ribbon Stories: A Celebration of Life

Tammy Miller

Description

This book is a wonderful collection of stories from 123 women and men whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.

There are all kinds of stories in this book. I am certain that something here will resonate with every reader.

For some of the stories I should probably issue a "tissue warning", and for others a "laughter warning", just Depends – yes, the pun IS intended!!

There are stories that will warm your heart; make you laugh; cause you to pause for reflection; and others that simply tell a story of a courageous journey through life.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Santé du quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Healing

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 05 septembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780970137982
• Langue: English

Extrait

Pink Ribbon Stories:
A Celebration of Life
 
 
Tammy A. Miller
 
 

 


 
 
 
Dear Lord,
Please use me this day
beyond my
wildest dreams!
 
 


Pink Ribbon Stories:
A Celebration of Life
 
Tammy A. Miller
 
First Edition
ISBN-13: 978-0-9701-3798-2
EAN 9780970137975
 
Tammy Speaks, LLC
Published in eBook format by Lighthearted Press
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
Copyright © Tammy A. Miller
All Rights Reserved
2011
 
Pink Ribbon Writers
Lacey Earnest, Kelsey Itak, Taryn Noll,
Kathy Salloum, and Diane Weller
 
Cover Photo and Design
Tiffany Dawn Earnest
www.tiffanydawndesigns.com
 
Pink Ribbon Editors
Ruth G. Miller, Linda Young,
Cynthia Finch, and Taliya Riesterer
 
The stories in this book are printed here with expressed permission from the participants. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written permission of the author, except by and for the owners of their personal stories.
 
For information, please contact:
Tammy A. Miller
E-mail: [e-mail]
Web Site: www.tammyspeaks.com
[phone]


 
 
 

 
 
Check out all the latest information on
Pink Ribbon Stories
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Acknowledgments
 
This book has my name on the cover, but it is truly God’s project. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful blessings that have accompanied this entire project. Always keep me mindful of the many daily blessings and Proverbs 3:5-6 on this great adventure of life.
 
The book you are now holding is a true labor of love! Many people worked diligently to make this a reality. This section is to acknowledge their hard work and dedication to the project.
 
To the many women and men who took the time to include their stories within the pages of this book, I thank you! Without your willingness to share your time to create your stories and words to encourage, inspire and make us smile, this project would not have happened.
 
To the strong and lovely women in my life, especially my beautiful mother (my biggest cheerleader) and my incredible daughters, Tiffany and Lacey. I love you all so very much. You continually inspire me! I am very thankful for you being in my life every single day!
 
To the rest of my family for your endless loving support. Even if you’re not quite sure what all this writing, travelling and speaking is about, you are always there to offer your endless love and help.
 
To my warm and wide circle of friends. You always help me find the humor, no matter what life throws at us. Friendship is a gift and you know I always tell people I am “gifted”! ☺
 
To Tiffany, Mary, Kimberly, and Dianne for all of your help on the cover, clean-up and details for the organization of this book.
 
To Lacey, Kelsey, Taryn, Diane and Kathy (and Tavrie!), also known as my Pink Ribbon Writers. Your assistance with this project was incredibly valuable. Thank you for your time to interview many of the people in this book and to write their stories. You helped people find their voices so they could encourage and inspire others.
 
To Ruth, Linda, Cynthia and Taliya also known as my Pink Ribbon Editors. You have spent countless hours scanning every word in this document to make it look as good as possible.
 
To the wonderful people at the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition ( www.pabreastcancer.org ). It has been an honor and pleasure to work with all of you. I am so delighted that this book can help to continue the fantastic programs you offer to help so many on a daily basis. And, well, you are just plain crazy – my kind of people!!
 
To Dr. B for saving my life. Even though you have moved onto another location and are no longer my active doctor, there will always be gratitude in my heart for being the head of my humor team! You saved my life so I can go on living, loving and laughing – thank you!
 
To the people who have made donations to offset the printing, publication and distribution of this book, no matter the amount of your donation. Without your generosity and support of this project, we would not have been able to move forward to help benefit many others. Thank you.
 
To Josten’s for all of your assistance through the printing process. You made it much easier to turn the words on a page into a real live book! ( www.jostens.com )
 
 
 
Dedication…
 
 
This book is dedicated to all the women (and men) who have endured the challenges of breast cancer, or will at some point in their life. We are from all walks of life, and each one has a special, unique, story to tell.
 
For each story in this book, there are countless others from people who inspire us daily through all that they do. To the people who have come before us, and the people who will follow behind, this book is dedicated to you with love.
 
Foreword
“PINK RIBBON STORIES”
Pat Halpin-Murphy
 
On this inspirational journey in life, I have been blessed to meet remarkable, uplifting women and families who have faced a breast cancer diagnosis with incredible strength, dignity and perseverance. From young mothers to prominent business leaders, politicians, grandmothers and beyond, I have true admiration for the countless women living with breast cancer, just like me, and those who sadly lost the battle. One such tireless advocate and dynamic breast cancer survivor who is a true friend and force of nature is Tammy Miller. Tammy’s incredible zest for life has enabled others to gain healing power, knowing we all can fight to overcome the darkness that often is created by breast cancer. Tammy is a light in our lives. In “Pink Ribbon Stories” , Tammy shares the faces of breast cancer through a compilation of unique, insightful personal accounts of how cancer changes life and that as breast cancer survivors we do not walk alone.
Fighting cancer has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. Why? Over two decades ago, even though I was shocked with a Stage 3 diagnosis, was leading a fulfilling life as a Pennsylvania state official and mother of two college-age daughters, I quickly learned this major health issue would refocus my passion and calling. After barely escaping death twice from this devastating disease, I had a renewed sense of giving others the valuable gift of life. After a long, rough recovery, I plunged back in with immense enthusiasm. My stumbling blocks had become stepping stones. Thankfully, with the love and support from great family, friends and a fabulous medical team, I launched the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition in 1993 to educate, advocate, support and help others. Our goal is simple, “to find a cure now, so our daughters and granddaughters don’t have to.”
“Pink Ribbon Stories” offers hope and healing for those of us living with breast cancer. It is an exceptional resource guide filled with extraordinary spotlights on individuals and families. It certainly is a must-read for anyone who is fighting the disease or has a loved one afflicted. Thank you, Tammy, for this amazing and encouraging book. It underscores not to sweat the small stuff, that breast cancer isn’t the end, to be grateful for each new day, count our blessings, lean on others, and NEVER give up! Yes, we all acquire strength in this journey, so make it count!
 
Pat Halpin-Murphy, breast cancer survivor
President & Founder
PA Breast Cancer Coalition
Reflections
Tammy A. Miller
 
Like many people in this book, my story as a survivor started when my doctor said the words we never want to hear, “Tammy, it is breast cancer”.
Another one of my books, The Lighter Side of Breast Cancer Recovery: Lessons Learned Along the Path to Healing , details the entire journey so I won’t try to duplicate it here. Instead, I will share a few words about my personal journey and some of the things I have learned as we walked through this incredible book project.
 
My Journey…
 
My personal journey began on September 14, 2001. I had noticed a change in my breast and we all know the saying, “if I only knew then what I know now!” I thought there was something different going on but when I went to the doctor and saw the physician’s assistant, she wasn’t concerned at all – the first thing – know your own body! Since it was close to the time for my mammogram anyway, I pushed her to have one done.
The experience was a familiar one to many people in this book. I get a mammogram and they call me back for more films because they “see something”.
When I went back for the follow-up, the radiologist described what he saw and told me that even if he did a needle biopsy he wouldn’t trust the results and he recommended I see a surgeon for a surgical biopsy.
Enter Dr. B! Dr. B is a man I had seen briefly a few years before, but I didn’t know him very well. That was about to change! He turned out to be a wonderful doctor who became the head of my Humor Team (yes, clown noses, kazoos, and rubber chickens!) and was the man I credit with saving my life!
You may be wondering about the Humor Team and the other items listed, well, at the time I was a very active professional clown known in my area as Hugz the Clown. As is the case with any well-stocked clown, I was armed with all of the above mentioned equipment, and a few other crazy things.
I firmly believe that we cannot always change what happens to us in life, but we can control how we respond to any given situation. I don’t ever want people to think I am making fun of anyone with cancer, I am just choosing the best response I could, given the situation. For me, I knew I could not change the cancer diagnosis, no matter how hard I tried, but I had complete control over the attitude I brought to the healing process, and that was going to include humor.
There is a great deal of research indicating the positive, healthy effects of humor and a positive attitude in the healing process. The research isn’t just for