Cancer Survivors: A Friend in Need

Terry: I have no history of breast cancer in my family, but on January 2003, during a routine mammogram, my doctor found a lump. I had a lumpectomy that spring and started chemotherapy in May. After my second dose of chemo, my husband of 34 years left me. I had been happy in my marriage, so it was a complete shock. I kept working the whole time, but on weekends I would just sit in my house and feel sorry for myself. Many weekends and holidays I would be alone, and Kathy would call me to go out, usually to see a movie. She also insisted that I join her family for dinner on Sunday nights, and she would always send me home with plenty of leftovers. The chemo left me so nauseous and with mouth sores, that I rarely wanted to cook. Sometimes Kathy would make me smoothies if I couldn't eat anything else. Kathy pushed me to get out of my pajamas, put on my wig, and make myself look decent. Going out made me feel more like a regular person.