Graham Relay for Life June 2013

This was my Fight Back Talk and I wanted to share it with you here, My name is Laura Berry and I am pleased to be here with you for such a time as this. I am honored to be a part of this awesome opportunity called Relay for Life. Not only is this something near and dear to me but being in my hometown is that much sweeter. I am humbled to be here and I thank you for being able to come here and share my story with you. I will start out by telling you a little bit about myself, I will be 44 yrs. old on Monday and I am married and have four children. I am originally from Graham but have lived in East Texas for twenty years now. Some of you may be familiar with my story but for those of you who are not, my journey began at the end of 2004, my only symptoms were a persistent cough. I ended up having a tightness in my chest but I attributed it to being out of shape as I had been trying to jog at the middle school across my house, but on the side of caution I went to the Doctor. He took X-rays and told me right away that he saw a mass on my lung and called the Pulmonologist from his personal phone, then I knew it was serious. The next month brought blood work, scans and many trips to Tyler. I will never forget sitting across from the Lung Dr. and him asking me if I wanted the good version or the not so good version. I am sure I cannot speak for everyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, but I do know you never forget the feeling of shock and utter disbelief that when you are told you have cancer. For me it was like an out of body experience. Being a Paramedic I felt like I was listening to the report of another patient, this couldn't be me. But it was. I looked the Dr. right in the eye and told him to not sugarcoat any of this, this was my LIFE we were talking about. He begins to tell me the possibility of taking out the middle lobe of my right lung, how it was like open heart surgery and I would be in the hospital 7-10 days. He tells me he can do all of this and It may be up to a year of recovery. I asked him what my chances of survival were and he said at the rate the tumor is growing not great. We won't know until we get in there but I'd say 1-2%.If I wanted to do this he could do it on the 28th. I got up out of my chair and told him my God only needed one chance to move on my behalf, I would see him on the 28th & shook his hand and left. I was never scared. As you can understand my family was beside themselves, I was thinking I must be in denial, but I truly had such peace, its hard to explain. I didn't know if I could win this battle, but I did know I would be healed here or there, either way, I would win! I felt like God had already given me my miracle, all I had to do was walk thru, endure the storms, and come out the other side. I gave God everything I had, my time, my resources, & my energy, no matter how little it seemed. I felt my willingness & surrender would activate God's intervention and blessing in my life . And it did! You see when you ignite one possibility that things will be okay, you activate faith, which turns into hope! I didn't deny there was a problem, I just saw it from a new perspective, from Gods eyes! It was a trying time in my life, we did what the Dr. said, got our affairs in order, spent quality time as a family, but we never gave up hope. The Dr. came into the recovery room and told me he was pretty sure he got it all. I was in the hospital 30 days due to complications, its been one of the hardest things I have ever been thru. When I got home from the hospital it was the last day of Feb. and very cold, but I took my walker over to the middle school and sat on a big boulder and just took in nature, the sunshine was breathtaking, the grass was greener and the birds seemed to be singing just for me! I sat there for 2 hours just taking it all in & I will never see things thru the same eyes again. In 07 while in California giving my mother in law her last wishes I went into cardiac arrest. I was brought back by CPR by my husband and brother in law not once but twice. In 09 my cancer came back in the other lung and I am still in remission. In 2010 I nearly died from heart complications and ended up with a pacemaker on my 41st birthday. I am not even medically supposed to be here but I keep defying the odds, as I know God has a plan and He isn't finished with me yet! I cant run hurdles, but I am back in college after 16 years, spending time with those I love and I will continue to focus on the positive. Looking back on all I went thru at times it feels like it was a lifetime ago and it times it feels like it was yesterday that my life changed forever. I had participated in Relay for Life before but after my cancer diagnosis it was very personal. Not only was I fighting for my cancer but ALL cancers! One of my favorite parts is the emphasis I places on recognizing the caregivers, as they are as much as a part of this diagnosis as the person with cancer, caregivers deserved to be honored just as much as its their love and support that gets us thru those difficult times. I want to say thank you to American Cancer Society and Relay for Life for giving everyone the opportunity to celebrate, remember and fight back, as we make a difference in this battle against cancer. Since my diagnosis in 04 I have seen all of my children graduate and two grandsons be born. I would not have had joy to experience those things had I not had the courage to fight back. If you look thru the eyes of faith, those small blessings you have wont be overlooked. I am not in denial that cancer exists or the reality of the costs, but I am not willing to give up Faith & Hope, acknowledging that with God, all things are possible! So whether you are a newly diagnosed patient, a longtime survivor, or a caregiver whose loved one is at this event or in your heart, please join me tonight in celebration of a world with less cancer & more birthdays, because together , we are making a difference in our world!