In my hair for a first grade picture - simplicity
On white paper wrapping toasters and blenders - incipiency
For my princess's flower girl dress - innocence
In mother's memory - forlornness
and then...
The universal symbol of me -
Mutilation
Consternation
Abandonment
and finally...
Determination
Omnipotence
Survivor
~Gaylene
Reposted for my 11 year remission anniversary, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
This is one of my favorite poems that I have written. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer just days after my 34th birthday, I had surgery, a combination of three chemotherapy medications, and six weeks of intensive radiation therapy (which not many people realize causes 2nd and 3rd degree burns). My doctor declared that I was in remission just before my 35th birthday, and have been in remission ten years now; this is in no small part due to the support of my sister, my children, and many other family and friends who helped me stick it out and muster through.
