“My Voice” by Ed Keelan
My story begins on August of 2001 in the Operating Room. I was a Surgical Tech working with an ENT doc and in the middle of the procedure he looks up at me and says, “You know you have a lump on your neck. You need to get that checked out because that can be […]
“My Voice” by Lisa Boylan (revisited)
For two months, I was lost. I had prepared myself for the immediate recovery after a major surgery, but did not take it seriously when told I needed to plan for the long-term. Cancer is scary. Surgery is brutal. Recovery is all-over-the-place. I planned to be out-of-commission for about six weeks (although my doctor had […]
“My Voice” by George Giefer, Jr.
Just a brief story as to how this tumor was found… It was a mid-summer afternoon, and I like any 4 year old boy would do, was playing outside without a shirt on. When I came inside after playing, my mom noticed some unusual “shading” on the upper right part of my back. There were […]
“My Voice” by Francesca Giessmann
I was young.. on the top of the world. Hard work had payed off and I had just started a thriving consulting business. My 3 year old son, out of diapers, was turning into this incredible little creature that I wanted to get to know and spend more time with. My beloved husband by my […]
“My Voice” by Donna Zurick
My story officially began on January 20, 2005- I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. However, symptoms had been creeping up on me for the past few years. I was lucky, my doctor said, and soon I would realize it was a common practice to tell Thyroid Cancer patients that we had the “best cancer there […]
“My Voice” by Sandy Beebe
I used to wear the color lavender… I used to sew patches of fabric into beautiful quilts… I used to wear my hair shorter sometimes and it used to be darker brown… I used to read books about people filled with drama and heartache… I used to be very shy… I used to want to […]
“My Voice” by Manfred Van Kuijk
Ever since my father had his heart attack, he was having problems with his health. The doctors just didn’t know what caused the problems. They did all kinds of research, but nothing. Then at one point in 2008 he got a “new” doctor. This doctor decides to start all research again from the beginning. The […]
“My Voice” by Dawn Edens
My name is Dawn Edens and I AM a CANCER SURVIVOR! I am a crazy, sexy cancer goddess. I survived stage III Diffused Large B Cell Lymphoma (Non Hodgkins). I just turned 40 and am a single mom of an 11 year old son, soon to be married in April 2010. I live in Coeur […]
“My Voice” by Colleen Marlett
My story of survival I believe started at the time of my birth. Although I won’t take you down that long and winding road I will tell you it has been one hell of a journey. I was adopted at birth by a wonderfully loving and nurturing family. They are my family through and through. […]
“My Voice” by Christine LeGrant
Years ago, I attended a rally for patients’ rights. Among the demonstrators I saw groups of cancer survivors carrying signs and chanting, some with their surgical scars showing. I had worked for many years as an oncology nurse and was, at the time, a physician assistant working in an HIV/AIDS clinic. I knew many people […]
“My Voice” by Ray Hebert
One day I got a note from the company that I worked for. The gist was, to provide more benefits to you we have decided to double the amount we charge you for insurance and of by the way triple the deductible. Oh I felt so thrilled to be offered this great opportunity. So off […]
“My Voice” by Diana Parker
My name is Diana Parker, I live in Ohio. I am 47 years old; I was diagnosed when I was 44. My story begins a lot like everyone else’s, go in to get something checked, and the doctor said honey I’m sorry you have breast cancer. I was diagnosed with stage 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma […]
“Check Yer Nuts!” by Matt Wakefield
My name is Matt Wakefield. I’m 29, engaged to a beautiful lady and have two amazing twins, Sammy and Bethany. I also have one nut. Yep, I’m a Testicular Cancer Survivor. I was diagnosed with cancer in June 2000, almost ten years ago. But that was only after ignoring a small pea-sized lump on my […]
“My Voice” by Angie Suttles
This is My Story In 1998, after being treated for what I was told was just an “infection,” I was diagnosed at the age of 31 with a rare vulva cancer, which had invaded one lymph node in my pelvic area. Following radical surgery, I was given radiation to the area and told that I […]
“My Voice” by Jason DeSousa
What does it mean to be a survivor? It means there is a bright future ahead of you. It means that you are one of the lucky ones and you have a unique perspective on life. Some may not see it that way, especially those recently diagnosed. I was diagnosed 21 years ago and I […]
“My Voice” by Angela Van Treuren
I am just three months into my cancer journey, and I know that I am already a survivor! I had no symptoms, I had no signs that anything was going on. On September 11, 2009 I went in for my routine annual physical, on September 18 I received the call that something was abnormal. On […]
“My Voice” by Debbie Cook
It has been a little more than 19 months that I received my 2nd diagnosis of breast cancer. On April 11th, 2008 the diagnosis was a triple negative, invasive ductile carcinoma, Stage 3. This time it was more aggressive and I had a very aggressive 2 rounds of chemo and a mastectomy. Thirteen years ago I had been […]
“My Voice” by Donna Trussell
At first surviving meant putting one foot in front of the other. After surgery I was on painkillers, but sometimes reality would break through the fog. And that reality was: You have cancer. You’re stage III. You may die soon. I knew how to be me – I’d been doing it all my life. I […]
“My Voice” by Andrew Gemmell
I still remember March 26th 2008 like it was yesterday, it was a month before my 22nd birthday and I was exhausted from work. Being so tired, I had decided to go to bed rather early the night before. Unfortunately, sleeping was something I was not going to be doing a lot of that night. […]
“My Voice” by Cassie Stewart
December 28, 2007 will always be a strange day for me, that’s the day they found my lymphoma. I’d had bronchitis about two weeks before Christmas and even after finishing the antibiotics I didn’t feel better. Two days after Christmas my sister and I were shopping. I coughed really hard and felt something move in […]
“My Voice” by Steve Schoger
What it means to me to be a co-survivor? In my video I said that being a survivor meant conquering the disease. I didn’t mean to be smug. All survivors know that cancer can rear its ugly head and bite when we are least expecting it. And I realize that there are others that may […]
“My Voice” by Jody Schoger
Growing up in southwestern New York and Iowa left me with a deep connection to the world of living things. My brothers, sister and I would spent hours outside – from building castles and forts in the woods to sliding into mud puddles when the rain fell just right. Early on I loved the changing […]
“My Voice” by Nick Smart
I don’t feel I can take much, if any, credit for my survivor status. I don’t feel I won a battle with cancer. I don’t really feel that I fought a battle with cancer; a battle did take place, but it was fought on my behalf by others with me as a passive beneficiary. The […]
“My Voice” by Sterling Wilson
July 2007 saw one of my twin sons and myself hiking for four days up to Machu Piccu, Peru (over 14,000 feet). At the time I thought this was probably the toughest thing I have done in my life. Then a month later I lost my appetite and decided to go get a physical. What […]
