As a kid, I always leaned on you. As a teen, I leaned on you even more. This past year, though, it was my turn to be the rock. As hard as it was for you to lift the facade and let us kids help, you eventually needed to. I want you to know that we never blamed you, we never held any resentment when you couldn't make dinner, go grocery shopping, or couldn't do all the things we usually relied on you to do for us. It took a little getting used to but the slack was eventually picked up.
We never realized how much we took for granted before you got sick. Even so, you never truly showed us kids the full extent of the battle you were facing. You went to work every day. You came home and always found a way to put food on the table for us, even if it was just takeout. Don't think we missed the way you collapsed on the couch afterward, though. We noticed and at first, we were selfish, we didn't realize how tired you actually were. We asked if you needed anything and when you said no, we didn't question it. But, as time went on, we caught on. We heard the little sighs of exhaustion and we noticed when the warmth left your loving, motherly look.
About 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women just this year alone, and of those 246,660 about 40,450 women will die from breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 36. A 3% chance doesn't seem like much to us now, but for that person sitting on the doctor's table receiving the worst news possible, it is monumental.
You were one of those people, only you weren't sitting in a doctor's office. You were getting home from work on a Friday afternoon when you received a call from the nurse and couldn't even talk to the doctors until the following Monday. You couldn't ask the millions of questions that flooded your mind in the second after you caught your breath again. I still remember coming down and seeing you and dad outside on the patio talking. We kids knew it was odd, and that something was off. When you finally came out and told us, I remember feeling like the world was crumbling. I felt the breath leave my lungs, but then I realized I had to be strong, for you. I couldn't cry, I couldn't be selfish and make this about me. I wasn't the one with the life threatening disease, I was just her daughter. I was ¼ of your support group, I had to be strong for you. I knew you'd never ask for it, but we’d give it anyway.
You got through this battle, and now, you're cancer-free. You beat it. You never gave up through all of the ups and downs, through all of the roadblocks, or through all of the hospital visits, chemo rounds, and radiation therapies. You never batted an eye at this illness. It did not rule your life, and it did not knock you off your feet. You are my hero, my role model, my best friend, my mom. You're the strongest person I know.
I love you, Mom.
-Your Daughter and #1 Fan
