Mom had her yearly mamo and was diagnosed the end of July this year with Stage 2 Breast Cancer. She had a lumpectomy in August. She will have radiation next week and start chemo in October. I know many people that have won and lost their battle with breast cancer. This is very hard to talk about and deal with. I am 30 years old and the oldest of 3. My sister is still in denial and my brother wants me to fix the problem. My dad lost his father to lung cancer when I was 12 years old and recently a very close friend of the family lost her battle with breast cancer. They worked together for over 30 years and he is still dealing with it. I am trying to be strong and take charge and help my parents out with anything they need and be there for my siblings. I never knew I had this much strength in me, but some days are better then others. I trust that the Lord will help us with this journey as we become closer as a family and help mom find the courage to fight. The technology is so advance now but its still scary anytime you hear the words BREAST CANCER. I just pray that everything will be ok. I am blessed to have a wonderful job and great support team at work. I am thankful for our friends and family that have stepped up and are going to help us out and go to mom's radiation next week so that we can take the time off from work when she will have chemo. This is just a terrible nightmare and I want to go to sleep and wake up with the way things used to be.

Kristin Hyder
Charlotte, NC