For the love of my sister, Charlene Rich, and with her families blessing, I share her personal story with you. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, after a lump was found in her left breast. Shortly after her diagnosis, she was told she would be scheduled for a lumpectomy and would be tested for the hereditary gene, BRCA2. Having tested positive for this gene, in a matter of a day the recommended lumpectomy was upgraded to a double mastectomy. Although it seemed rather radical, knowing there was an 87% chance of the cancer developing in her right breast, the decision came easy. Fortunately or ironically in this case, this decision was met with confirmation that the cancer had also been found in the right breast, something FOUR mammograms never detected. And now, my sister faces five months of intense chemo. Needless to say, this has been a lot to absorb, not only as a family, but for my sister, Charlene, known to all of us as, Char.
My sister’s path has been radically altered by this thing we call, cancer. And in one fell swoop, the lives of her children and husband have been forever changed as well. But even still, her spirit is strong with the support and love of family and friends. And I’m eternally thankful for the family and friends around my sister during this difficult journey in her life. It was from this support, and friends asking if there was anything they could do to help, that my wife and I thought about gofundme.com. As you all may know the hardest path still awaits Char, from the severe sickness to the hair loss and all the emotions in between. And as much as one can try to anticipate the road ahead, no one can really fully prepare. And nothing would give me more pleasure than to allow her to go through this battle with dignity and the feeling that she can still hang on to the things that made her feel, well, normal, at least, as much as possible. And the only way I know to do this is by raising money. My sister was the one to always look after me and care for me when we were younger, and it’s my hope that I can only do the same for her in return, with your help.
My sister’s biggest priorities, even in the mist of all of this, are her children. As any loving parent would, she hopes to be able to keep things as normal as possible and not been seen as just a ‘cancer patient’. This disease does not define my sister and I look to bring her some normalcy by allowing her to afford those things that will allow her to feel as she was once was, and still is, beautiful, funny, vibrant and full of life.
My sister’s path has been radically altered by this thing we call, cancer. And in one fell swoop, the lives of her children and husband have been forever changed as well. But even still, her spirit is strong with the support and love of family and friends. And I’m eternally thankful for the family and friends around my sister during this difficult journey in her life. It was from this support, and friends asking if there was anything they could do to help, that my wife and I thought about gofundme.com. As you all may know the hardest path still awaits Char, from the severe sickness to the hair loss and all the emotions in between. And as much as one can try to anticipate the road ahead, no one can really fully prepare. And nothing would give me more pleasure than to allow her to go through this battle with dignity and the feeling that she can still hang on to the things that made her feel, well, normal, at least, as much as possible. And the only way I know to do this is by raising money. My sister was the one to always look after me and care for me when we were younger, and it’s my hope that I can only do the same for her in return, with your help.
My sister’s biggest priorities, even in the mist of all of this, are her children. As any loving parent would, she hopes to be able to keep things as normal as possible and not been seen as just a ‘cancer patient’. This disease does not define my sister and I look to bring her some normalcy by allowing her to afford those things that will allow her to feel as she was once was, and still is, beautiful, funny, vibrant and full of life.