Shauna Schlender
Donation protected
Shauna is my Older sister and is an amazing person, She was on the today show today to share her story about her journey with breast cancer. I want to set this up to help her and her family get back on their feet following this crazy journey of hers.
Below is a letter written by Shauna,
Finding Beauty in Breast Cancer
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” –Les Miserables
My name is Shauna Schlender and I have a story. It’s a story of challenge, of perseverance and strength. It’s also a story about faith and sweet blessings. I was a thirty-three year old, married, mother of one, when I received the news that I had breast cancer. It began as occasional pain in my breast and an enlarged appearance – all on the right side. A visit to my doctor and one mammogram later, I knew I had cancer. The radiologist was choking back tears as he explained to my husband and I that he was “very concerned” and I needed to meet with a breast surgeon as soon as possible. We met with the breast surgeon that evening and she performed the biopsy in her office. She was a beautiful, Christian woman who stayed late to see me. (BLESSING)
I began eight rounds of chemotherapy on April 22 and completed my last treatment on July 29. My sister’s wedding was on August 22 and I was able to stand as her Maid of Honor before my right total mastectomy on August 24. (BLESSING) I am scheduled for thirty-three radiation treatments beginning in a couple weeks.
People often ask me, how do you stay so positive through this challenging time? My reply is, “I don’t.” There are many days where I pray for strength, times that I fight with fear and moments where the weight of my cancer makes it impossible to stand. My husband lost his job two weeks before my diagnosis, and we both carry the stress of that challenge too. When I am desperate, I search for beauty in the ashes. I see the blessings and I am thankful. A good prognosis from my doctor, the kindness my family receives from friends and neighbors, even complete strangers. My support system is amazing - my husband, my mother, my sister, my mother-in-law, my father and my brother, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. The list is truly too long to write. I have been blessed a thousand times by these people. The most beautiful blessing I have with me each day is my two year old daughter Colette. She is the sweet smile I wake up to in the morning and the dreamy eyes I watch close at night. (BLESSING X 10000) My faith has grown tremendously through this journey and in turn has taught me the practice of finding beauty and gratitude in dark times. One lovely thing I see over and over again, I have not been alone in this journey. Sometimes, God carries me - like the beautiful poem, Footprints describes. But mostly, He just walks beside me and gives me peace.
I will continue to look for the blessings along my journey. I will stay directed FORWARD as I go through radiation treatment, and later, reconstruction. My life is filled with beauty, cancer magnified that. I hold tight the promises I believe and trust in the greater purpose of this pain. Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. While I wait, I choose to look for stars.
Below is a letter written by Shauna,
Finding Beauty in Breast Cancer
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” –Les Miserables
My name is Shauna Schlender and I have a story. It’s a story of challenge, of perseverance and strength. It’s also a story about faith and sweet blessings. I was a thirty-three year old, married, mother of one, when I received the news that I had breast cancer. It began as occasional pain in my breast and an enlarged appearance – all on the right side. A visit to my doctor and one mammogram later, I knew I had cancer. The radiologist was choking back tears as he explained to my husband and I that he was “very concerned” and I needed to meet with a breast surgeon as soon as possible. We met with the breast surgeon that evening and she performed the biopsy in her office. She was a beautiful, Christian woman who stayed late to see me. (BLESSING)
I began eight rounds of chemotherapy on April 22 and completed my last treatment on July 29. My sister’s wedding was on August 22 and I was able to stand as her Maid of Honor before my right total mastectomy on August 24. (BLESSING) I am scheduled for thirty-three radiation treatments beginning in a couple weeks.
People often ask me, how do you stay so positive through this challenging time? My reply is, “I don’t.” There are many days where I pray for strength, times that I fight with fear and moments where the weight of my cancer makes it impossible to stand. My husband lost his job two weeks before my diagnosis, and we both carry the stress of that challenge too. When I am desperate, I search for beauty in the ashes. I see the blessings and I am thankful. A good prognosis from my doctor, the kindness my family receives from friends and neighbors, even complete strangers. My support system is amazing - my husband, my mother, my sister, my mother-in-law, my father and my brother, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. The list is truly too long to write. I have been blessed a thousand times by these people. The most beautiful blessing I have with me each day is my two year old daughter Colette. She is the sweet smile I wake up to in the morning and the dreamy eyes I watch close at night. (BLESSING X 10000) My faith has grown tremendously through this journey and in turn has taught me the practice of finding beauty and gratitude in dark times. One lovely thing I see over and over again, I have not been alone in this journey. Sometimes, God carries me - like the beautiful poem, Footprints describes. But mostly, He just walks beside me and gives me peace.
I will continue to look for the blessings along my journey. I will stay directed FORWARD as I go through radiation treatment, and later, reconstruction. My life is filled with beauty, cancer magnified that. I hold tight the promises I believe and trust in the greater purpose of this pain. Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. While I wait, I choose to look for stars.
Organizer
Kevin Smith
Organizer
Holland, MI