That's its personality.

You've heard of MBC. I'm guessing that unless you have Metastatic Breast Cancer or love someone who does, you may not really know what it's about. As the current commercial says, "It's relentless." I have watched this relentless disease take the lives of a few close friends, & the lives of a few friends I can only wish I knew better. It's too late.

I must pay tribute to a few... Jenny, Elizabeth, Brenda, Bilinda, Amy. Some of these women were young & had young children. Some were in my age range with grown children & perhaps grand children. I have 2 friends now with metastatic breast cancer. I admire both of them so much. I believe they both have teenagers. One of them defines positivity & the other, fierceness. I believe it takes both of these qualities to survive MBC.

There seems to be similar threads to each breast cancer journey. Each person's story is unique, but as God has blessed me to know these remarkable women, I have picked up on some signs which make my heart sink, signs which make me know that the odds are not so good or just took a sudden dive. It's hard to understand. Life is hard. When the breast cancer cloud rests over your family's head, things are never quite the same, especially if it becomes metastatic.

So what is metastatic? Metastatic means the breast cancer has metastasized. It has gone to another part of the body & taken up residence with the desire to multiply & grow. That's its personality. By this time, it's usually aggressive, relentless. So where does this insidious disease land once it leaves the breast? The most common sites are brain, blood, bones, & liver. However, it's been known to show up in other places too.

All of the amazing women mentioned above fought to the end. They tried chemo after chemo until the list was exhausted. Then, they became candidates for experimental drugs. They never gave up. They fought for the love of their families. They hung on for one more day, day after day. Their quality of life was deeply impacted, but for one more day with their beloved family, they hung on. As I remember each of them, I could be more specific because it seems each of them transitioned into the Heavenly realm in their own way, yet in similar fashion. I am going to stop here out of respect for each of them & because it's too painful for me to recount.

Susan G. Komen has a goal to decrease MBC by 50%. If you donate to this cause (my cause), your contribution will go toward research, toward helping local Survivors receive much needed screening & care, & other things too. You can look on the website & get the specifics. From my point of view, research is what will save lives. Science is on the brink of much in this department, but the answer still has not been found. Yet, we get closer & closer. What will it take to eradicate Breast Cancer?

It will take success in treating remarkable women like Jenny, Elizabeth, Brenda, Bilinda, & Amy... With each success, we will be one step closer. Each time someone donates to my team, I get a bit excited. My heart begins to race. My eyes well up a little bit. I thank God. It warms my heart because I know that person cares about me & about my cause. It's a simple way to bless another person, yet it means more than you could know unless you too are a Survivor or love a Survivor.