Personal Narrative: Having A Mom With Stage IV Breast Cancer

Improved Essays
When I was in 9th grade, I didn’t know that I was going to have a mom with stage IV breast cancer and I really didn’t think this would improve my life. The doctors said she couldn’t do anything, that chemo would just weaken her, so my family decided to search for our own treatments. There was everything from wheat grass, to teas, to herbal supplements, and I loved the journey of learning about all of these things. While we were on this journey I found myself wanting to join my mom in her fight against cancer so I decided to take on the challenge of changing my eating patterns and lifestyle.
I never knew what would come of this, the questions and skeptic looks when I spoke about healing my gut, it was all a bit discouraging. I often asked myself

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    I have chosen Cancer as my favorite constellation because it is the sign I was born under. Latin for "crab", it is the dimmest of all the zodiac constellations and used to be the Sun's most northerly position in the sky. It is located in between Gemini (to its west) and Leo(to its east). It is best known among stargazers as home of Praesepe, an open cluster. Cancer is most well known in Greek mythology as the crab sent by the goddess Hera to help the hydra kill Heracles.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It has taken me quite a while to decide upon a major, but when I started looking into nursing, it was like everything just clicked. There have been many factors that led to this decision. The biggest one of all is my mother’s last pregnancy. Towards the end of her third trimester, she started having difficulties especially with her blood pressure. I remember being with her in the hospital and watching as a doctor and a couple of nurses fluttered in and out of her room.…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was 15 years old, My grandmother diagnosed with breast cancer . She must had a surgery. Then the doctor explained us how the surgery was going to be done. He also explained us how my grandmother life would be in their hands because the cancer was on stage 4 and had spread through her lymph node and armpit. It frightened me at first because I thought I was not going to see my grandma again but the doctor's ability to cure her, and his skills of communicating with her as a patient calmed me.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pet Peeve Snap! Went my mom’s ankle as she strode down the stairs. “Call 911!” She yelled.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every year, millions of Americans undergo major heart surgeries costing billions of dollars. To treat cancer, patients deal with harsh medications and treatments with a handful of unpleasant side effects. Medical researchers like John McDougall, John Robbins, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and Caldwell Esselstyn never cease to search for new safer treatments to treat the top diseases in the country. They, along with many others, are discovering that a plant-based diet can prevent and treat the top killers in America. Americans face problems such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity in the form of hamburgers and milkshakes.…

    • 1449 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Diagnosed with Leukemia, my friend, classmate, and teammate battled strongly for three years and passed away. Seeing my colleague go through this adversity was sad for me, and it motivated me to find a way to serve others. My friend’s battle is something I look at and say, what if it had been me. I appreciate everything I have and want to assist people like my friend, because I have no idea what kind of pain they go through every day. This is tragedy made me realize that the way I can make a significant difference is by understanding medicine better.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As I sit here and think of what I would do if I was given $1500, there is one thing that comes to my mind. The one thing that came to my mind was donating the money to the Breast Cancer Association. These are my caring instincts that kick in before my selfish instincts. Keeping the money to myself didn’t cross my mind once. I will first tell you why I would donate my money to the Breast Cancer Association.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As I motioned for the pink fire trucks to park in the middle of the pink-themed festival, I could not help but feel pride in what the team and I had been able to accomplish. After months of planning, designing, and promoting; Naperville, Illinois was about to witness their very first Guardian of the Ribbon fundraiser for breast cancer survivors. Cheering and supportive crowds gathered around the stage set in front of the fire trucks as those who had been afflicted with breast cancer shared brave stories about their roads to recovery. It was during this time that I began to reflect on my own journey and how service had become such an important aspect of my life.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It was the winter of my 7th-grade year, a time when so much was already changing. But never have I changed more than in the months after my mother's cancer diagnosis. It was technically Stage 3b breast cancer, and from what I could understand, a very fast growing variety. She went through chemo treatments, then radiation, and was constantly either sleeping or sick from all the treatments. Watching her suffer was devastating.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was in the sixth grade my maternal grandfather was diagnosed Multiple Myeloma. I didn’t know much about what it was but I knew it was bad. It was cancer and as I sixth grader I knew that cancer was a scary word typically used to describe some sort of disease that would later turn fatal. My grandfather wasn’t given a sentence, none of us were sat down by the doctor and told we sound be preparing our goodbyes, we were told that the cancer wouldn’t kill him and to go on living a normal life.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Death With Dignity Act

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 2007 my grandfather fell ill, he was in the hospital for weeks and barely able to sip ginger ale. Tons of scans, blood tests, and biopsies were performed, the diagnosis was cancer. We were told his abdomen was filled with solid tumors and they prepared us to say goodbye. There was no hope! Thankfully, through an amazing series of events, including some illegal behavior, my mom, a medical doctor, got a hold of my grandfather’s charts and scans.…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My grandfather did not want to disturb my studies so I was only told when he was already very ill, thus I felt was very important for me to spend his last moment by his side. It was during this time that I first began volunteering at the pediatric department of the hospital he was staying at. My grandfather’s cancer also spurred an interest in nonsurgical treatments of cancer that led me to shadow Dr. Simon Cheng, a radiation oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. In 2013, in the midst of multiple health issues, my mother was told that she might have breast cancer. Since my father was working in China, I took time off to be with her.…

    • 1712 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s July 2014. My eyes are still heavy and hard to open from the anesthesia. As I slowly wake up and wait to hear the news, how little did I know that this news would change my life completely, for better and for worse. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, when I was nearly 14 years old. At the time, I didn’t quite understand what Crohn’s Disease even was, or how it would affect me on a day to day basis.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The agony of watching my grandmother lose battle to an aggressive cancer, when I was but eight years old, has channeled in my life as a driving force to combat this disease. My resolution to battle cancer has affected my education choices. I chose XX for my undergraduate studies for its excellence in cancer research and cancer treatment development. During the final year of my undergraduate studies I was involved in studying and identifying the role of post translational modifications, such as protein glycosylation, in altering binding properties of Trastuzumab (a drug used to treat metastatic breast cancer) to the Herceptin HER2 positive cells.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was in high school, my mom was diagnosed with stage-III breast cancer. I still remember the doctor explaining to my family that her being overweight was a potential contributing factor. At that moment, I realized the importance of a healthy diet; seeing my mother struggle to survive each day further inspired me to pursue a nutritional science major. Even then, I imagined that I would one day become a dietitian, which would give me the chance to help sick people like my mom prolong their lives. My ambition was to facilitate healthy eating lifestyles in order to reduce chronic disease.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays