In what has become an annual tradition, the cancer survivors of Maplewood Baptist Church in Yadkinville gather for a photo during Yadkin County's Relay for Life celebration. Pictured from left to right are Phillip Graham, Frances Johnson, Robert Shore, Jeanie Houston, Tom Perkins, Wayne Ray, Una Adams and Nancy Scott.
Cancer is the great equalizer. It's a disease that can strike anyone anywhere, and at any time, no matter what you do for a living, who you know or how well you've tried to live your life.
It's humbling to know just how hard it can hit.
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in June 2006. While the kind I have is one of the most treatable types of the disease on record, "cancer" is still an incredibly scary word. It's the kind of thing that only happens to other people, not me.
But it did.
Believe it or not, however, there is an up side to having cancer. Probably more than anything else that could ever happen to you, cancer lets you know who's truly on your side. My husband, Rick, has been there with me every step of the way, and so have my kids, Adam and Jesse, as well as the rest of my family -- Mom and Dad, my sister, Angie (who was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer) and her children, Denver and Lauren.
In the two years since I was first diagnosed, I have also had countless people tell me that I have been in their prayers. Trust me. That alone has meant the world to me.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.
