October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The 2015 Think Pink is dedicated to breast cancer survivors, from the newly diagnosed to those who have lived decades beyond their last treatment. Every year we ask for personal stories, and Karalee Misner's submission about her mother Julie Rotz was particularly poignant. “By definition, a survivor is a person who continues to function or prosper in spite of opposition, hardship, or setbacks. Some might consider breast cancer to be a setback, but if you asked my mom she’d say it was just the beginning. “Her journey really started with the diagnosis and led her to do amazing things. I thought I’d have to be strong for her, instead she showed me strength I never knew she had. She immersed herself in learning all things ‘anticancer’including studying and becoming certified in plant-based nutrition. She continued to train during her chemo treatments, qualifying and running the Boston Marathon, twice, and completing a partial triathlon. In her words, ‘less hair just makes me faster.’ “She embodies the spirit of a true survivor by refusing to let it define her. She is not a cancer survivor, she is so much more.”