Make a Difference by Lisa Morgan

 The C word, cancer.  What a scary word.  I was diagnosed Feb.  11, 2009 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  It is the rarest blood cancer, but very curable.  As of today, I have 2 chemotherapy treatments to go.  And then we will do scans again. I didn’t want cancer, but I want something good to come out of it.  I believe you can find good in something bad, even cancer.

This is how I have gotten though the last 6 months.  First of all, God.  He has walked with me every step of the way.  He has been there for every poke of the needle, every treatment,  every test, and every result, whether it be good or bad.  Then there is my husband, aka my caregiver.  The best ever.  He has learned how to cook and clean.  And does a better job than I ever did.  And my family, they have been very supportive and put up with a lot. 

My church family, they deserve their own paragraph.  All the prayers, all the inquiries and all the love.  Not to mention all the wonderful meals after every treatment.  And sometimes, just any night of the week.  Then there was a list of people that wanted to take me anywhere I needed to go.  My treatments last 3 to 4 hours.  Then they would take me out to eat lunch, before the chemo killed the taste buds.

Now I must talk about the Look Good Feel Good program.  I knew that I would be losing my hair.  At first, I thought I would just wear hats.  But then when the time came, I decided that to keep things as normal as possible I needed hair.  That is when I met Elaine.  What a sweet lady, a cancer survivor, and the Look Good Feel Better leader.  She helped me to find a great wig.  Then she told me about the program, which I was very excited to attend.  My friend Vera, one of my great supporters, went with me.  She was just as excited as I was.  The program was great.  I gave me the confidence that I needed.  It showed me tricks of the trade, so to speak. 

I think where I am making the most of a bad situation, is all the compliments I receive.  People tell me, nearly every day, I didn’t know you were sick or I didn’t know you have cancer.  You don’t look sick.  Where cancer has made a difference in my life, the Look Good Feel Better program has made a difference in living with cancer.   This program helps us to be better survivors.