In the fall of 1993, I awoke one morning and something just told me I needed to schedule a mammogram immediately. I called our local hospital that day and they told me I needed to have my doctor’s referral. I called my doctor and within two days I was having a mammogram. After the mammogram was completed, the X-ray technician came in and said she thought she should get a little better picture for the radiologist. Right then and there I knew! What a frightening experience. But at the same time, I just knew I had to go forward. I often wonder what my consequences would have been if I had not listened to my "woman’s intuition" that we are often kidded about.

All of a sudden, my fairly smooth but fast-paced "road of life" was taking a detour I had not planned. These detours consisted of a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation for the next seven months. Oh, how my speedometer slowed down, and my smooth ride was getting rather bumpy. As I took treatments, I continually thought of all of the people before me with cancer who had endured those first chemo treatments with awful sickness, and even those who did not survive. I often remark that when I started my chemo treatments, I had fake nails and real hair and when I was finished with my treatments, I had real nails and fake hair.

My road over this past six years has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am no longer on that interstate but I am on one of those great roads that take you through all of those small towns. I have met people who I would have never met before, in my pre-cancer days. There is certainly camaraderie among cancer survivors that is beyond comparison.

The past several months I have had the opportunity to make some business presentations. I always finish my presentation by proudly telling the group I am a six-year breast cancer survivor, followed by this ancient proverb: "If you want to know what your experiences were like in the past, examine your body now. If you want to know what your body will look like in the future, examine your experiences now."

I wear my badge of cancer very proudly. I never question why me – I just know I am to make a difference. My hope is that I am helping to make that difference by volunteering for the American Cancer Society. If you have not had a chance to get involved, please think about contacting someone in your area and you can begin to make a difference in your life and in someone else's life.