With Love from MARGIE ... Mom gone 15 years ago

15 years ago my Mom lost her battle to cancer. She passed away of cervical and ovarian cancer.

I can remember 18 years prior to her passing, she and her (our) Cousin were talking in the dining room, and my Mom mentioning to her how she “wasn’t feeling right down there". Cousin Carol asked my Mom if she has gone to the Doctor to check it out, and my Mom’s reply was “Oh No. I don’t want to hear the “C" word" (for you young ones, the “C" word isn’t what you think – it’s means CANCER).

Well my Mom ignored all the signs. Fast forward about 15-16 years later, and one day I found my Mom “sleeping" in bed, very weak (not like my Mom). For some reason I pulled back the covers to her bed only to find her sleeping in a pool of blood from “the lower area". Of course she was rushed to the Hospital, test were taken – and it was discovered she had cancer of the cervix and uterus. They operated, they said they “got it all out" and she recovered.

A year later she relapsed, and for 2 years she was on/off drugs and eventually chemo. The cancer finally took her life. She was 54. The Doctor told her (and us) that if she had come in 18 years sooner there is a very good chance she could have beaten this and lived longer. As a result, my Mom never got to meet her only Grandchild. And the death of my Mom hit my Dad so hard it eventually killed him too. Not to mention my sister and I, who miss them both (daily)

Now why am I sending this to you? Not because I want you to feel sorry, or send condolences but because you're special to me, and to remind you of a few things:

 (01) If you don’t feel well, GO SEE A DOCTOR!! I know, we’re all scared what the Doctor may say but early diagnosis is the KEY to BEATING a disease.

 (02) IGNORING IS IGNORANT.  Your body is your best friend. IT won’t lie to you. It will tell you when something isn’t right. Don’t be an ostrich and stick your head in the sand. Listen to your body. Remember, everything in life can be replaced – except YOUR OWN HEALTH/LIFE!!

 (03) NO ONE HAD CONTROL OVER YOUR BODY BUT YOU!! Many state that their family member is “not on board" with their medical decision. WELL GUESS WHAT – only YOU have final say over your own health. NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING ALIVE.

 (04) DEATH IS FINAL – Yes going and having an operation may cause you to be temporarily incapacitated, and it may put a temporary strain on your family. But when you’re dead, the strain and pain on the family is much greater.

If you’d like to honor my Mom’s life, please learn from her mistake, get healthy, and pass this along to anyone you think who will benefit from it. And if you do, tell them it’s a present of love and concern from you, and Margie (my Mom’s name).

Good Morning Tom

I am so sorry to read about your mom and then your dad.

I am a firm believer on listenening to your body also.  I have lost many in my family because they chose not to go to a Dr. for many of years.  I will NEVER make that mistake, after seeing them suffer.

I am with you all the way on this one.
Thanks for saying it LIKE IT IS!!!!!!!
Have a great day
Pam

Hugs to you Tom...I know what you are feeling...my dad passed away in 1978 at the age of 44 (almost 45) from sleep apnea, cardiac arrest, in his sleep, and my mom went off the deep end.  She still had a 15 and 17 yr old at home and started drinking scotch pretty heavily to cope...she made my 17 yr old brother her "drinking buddy" and about 6 yrs later told me that she felt funny in her upper GI area and pointed to an area just under her ribs on the left side...she described it as an internal itch.  This rang a bell for me, since a friend's mom had just passed away from pancreatic cancer and she had the same feeling a couple of years before....in June of 1986 my mom passed away from pancreatic cancer that was diagnosed only 12 weeks earlier.  My brother lost his best friend, enabler and drinking buddy with her.  I thought he would recover and move on with his life....he did for some years, and acknowledged his alcoholism, but never did seek treatment, dispite his family and friends encouragement to do so.  In 1998, Matt met a woman who seemed like a nice enough person who didn't mind that he was over 400 lbs and drank heavily...in September 2000 Matt married her and we thought all was well (we live in the Seattle area and Matt lived in the SF bay area).  In March 2001 we received a call from Matt's best friend telling us he was in ICU with acute liver failure due to being given large amounts of Xstrength Tylenol and his booze....Matt passed away on April 2, 2001 on what would have been our dad's 68th birthday, closing the "circle".   Losing my brother was heartbreaking.  Losing him to a predatory, drug addicted, former nurse who took his life was even more devastating.
Thank you for posting this and hopefully others will share their stories too...

Thanks for posting this...even if it just saves one life.  I lost *my* mom to liver cancer 15 years ago too...as of Sept 29th.  She was also only 54.  They found the cancer too late.

Her name was Mary J0...and my first name is Margie.

Small world.
Bless you for putting this out there.
Margie Jolena P.

Margie,

My heart goes out to you too.

Thanks Tom for sharing this.

Thanks Tom... I'll make my appointment tomorrow! 

Hello Tom...I lost my grandmother, Margie to lung cancer a couple years back..She raised my sister and I until we were old enough  to move out of the house and go to college...She was very much in denial about the signs that she felt when she started to feel sick...I love her and miss her every day.....So this Margie, named for my grandmother, is going to take all the steps I need to get my life back on track for my son....Starting with quitting smoking...Almost a week without them darn thangs..lol..Thank You Soo Much for your post...It really puts things into perspective...XOXO, Margie

Tom

I have so much respect for you. I can only imagine how much it took for you to
reach out to us in such a big way. What a great way to honor your mother.

THANKS