In 1998, I was given a most precious gift, the gift of life. This gift was given to me by a courageous woman who had the strength to share her diagnosis of terminal breast cancer with her friend, my husband Paul.
Eileen O’Connell lost her fight in September 2000 leaving me to forever ponder the importance of her experience to my own life.
It was in July of 1998 that Paul returned home bearing Eileen’s tragic news. It was Paul who insisted that I re-book a mammogram even though I had been given a clear reading at age forty, five years previous, and was intending to wait until I turned fifty before making my next appointment. I was shocked to learn that I, too, had breast cancer! Today, following surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, I am a two year survivor.