On the Wings of Pink Angels by Dawn Colclasure
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“You
have cancer.” These are words people dread hearing. But when worse
comes to worst, push comes to shove, something wonderful happens. More
people come together for support and encouragement. More people
participate in “Race for the Cure” events, and more people discover an
inner strength within themselves that they never knew they had before.
On the Wings of Pink Angels offers a gentle hand through this difficult
time, sharing stories that inspire hope, strength, gratitude and courage
during a time when someone must fight for his or her life against
breast cancer.
Word Count: 32000
Pages to Print: 133
Buy it at: Smashwords (all formats) ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Amazon
Also available at many online vendors worldwide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dawn
Colclasure is a writer who lives in Oregon. Her articles, essays, poems
and short stories have appeared in several newspapers, anthologies,
magazines and E-zines. She is the author and co-author of over two dozen
books, among them Burning the Midnight Oil: How We Survive as
Writing Parents; 365 Tips for Writers: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and
Beat the Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity; Love is Like a
Rainbow: Poems of Love and Devotion; On the Wings of Pink Angels:
Triumph, Struggle and Courage Against Breast Cancer; A Ghost on Every
Corner; The Yellow Rose and her latest novels, Faded Reflection and Imprint.
WEBSITE ~ TWITTER ~ FACEBOOK ~ BLOG
EXCERPT:
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month was founded in 1985 by a variety of
health and medical organizations promoting the message of breast cancer
awareness.
You can visit the site here: http://www.nbcam.org/
And here is the Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Month
Since
its inception, businesses and charities across the globe have stepped
up to do their part in the fight against breast cancer. Major
corporations such as ValPak, Walmart and Lands End have participated in
NBCAM in some form or another. They have distributed flyers and
informational documents about breast cancer among employees and
customers, created support groups to help those with breast cancer and
created an in-house breast cancer screening program. Even the government
has done its part in participating in NBCAM, by including a message
about breast cancer on government employee pay stubs during the month of
October.
Over the years, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
has been a month of challenges, inspiration, support—as well as
controversy. A local breast imaging center in Eugene, Oregon started a
“Make Time for the Girls” campaign during National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month in 2010. The idea of calling breasts “the girls” was met
with a public outcry, spurring many residents to complain to their
local newspaper about such insensitivity. Still, the campaign
persevered. Another year when NBCAM rolled around, many people on
Facebook shared a status update saying, “Let’s find a cure for ALL
cancers, not just breast cancer.” The purpose of National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month is to promote awareness and support for anyone fighting
for their life against breast cancer. Yes, we do want an end to ALL
cancers one day, but let us remember that this special month was not
created to slight the other cancers, or even to dismiss the struggles of
those afflicted with other cancers. Let us march forward with our pink
ribbons spreading the message that the fight against breast cancer, and
indeed all cancers worldwide, must continue to go strong.
Beating Time At Its Own Game: Life Begins With Cancer
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
The
day after my biopsy, my husband and I drove to Las Vegas on a business
trip, never thinking about possibilities. We stopped at the state line
for a ride on the giant Ferris wheel. We shelled giant prawns for lunch
at the Stardust buffet. We slid quarters into a slot machine—the old
fashioned kind I like with spinning cherries that will surely triple my
money and spill the winnings into a silver trough.
That was not a
bad approach at the time. There is no reason to assume the worst, to
project abject possibilities that may never come to pass onto the
present. Denial is sometimes very useful. On the other hand, it often
keeps one from examining one’s own behavior, one’s own motivations. I
share this anecdote because it illustrates how thoroughly denial had
become entrenched in my life.
I was raised in times that were not
easy for women. Most of the barriers I faced were ones that couldn’t be
seen nor acknowledged because I didn’t know they were there. They crept
up silently on padded feet and, if I sensed them at all, I chose not to
turn and face them.
This faculty for denial was intact and very
healthy when I was diagnosed with cancer. By 3 p.m. that day, the
picture was not so jolly. We had to return home so I could begin
autogenous blood donations. The risk of AIDS in the blood supply was
still high; my doctor believed that we should have my own blood on hand
in case it was needed.
My first reaction was true to pattern. I
reassured myself that everything was going to be just fine, that I
wasn’t nervous, that cancer was not a terrifying word. Unfortunately, my
doctor had not sounded especially positive when he demanded that we set
a surgery date in that moment, over the phone.
My husband was
also up to the task. “We won’t work today. We’ll just take off, have
some fun and drive back tonight.” We were two peas in a pod. We’d both
try anything other than just saying, “Gee, I’m scared.”
I almost
went along with that plan. Instead, I used the time on the open road to
meditate. In that time, I realized—sort of knew at a cellular level—that
I had to do more than donate blood to myself and that cancer doesn’t
just happen.
