Nancy Dollar of Thomasville: Living with cancer or dying from it

When I was diagnosed with stage III metastic breast cancer on April 1, 2006, my first thought was that my surgeon was playing an April Fool’s joke on me.

It didn’t take me long to realize that:

Enlarge this image

Nancy Dollar

Dollar (left) is with her father, her daughter and her granddaughter.

CANCER TALES:

• Cancer touches us all. Nearly everyone living in metro Atlanta knows of someone living with cancer or dying from it.
• Email us your story: CYOO@AJC.COM

• Family, faith, friendships strengthened as wife battles breast cancer 
• Colon cancer survivor says her mission is to inspire and educate others 
• Breast cancer was an 'adventure', says eight-year survivor 
• She ''didn't have time to say goodbye'' to her father 
• Loss of brother, father helped her understand loving, letting go 

• Back to Health

CANCER TALES

Share your loss, triumph

Number one, he was a good friend and would never be that cruel.

Number two, my life, as it had been for 57 years, would never be the same.

After I had time to absorb it all, I made the decision that I had a choice: I could DIE from cancer or I could LIVE with it.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite that simple.

The next year and a half was filled with 6 months of chemo, 7 weeks of daily radiation, and 52 consecutive weekly IV treatments, not to mention the dozens of endless tests to keep track of what I knew was there but couldn’t see.

I have joked that I have had enough radio active material pumped into my veins to make me glow in the dark or set off airport security.

I can’t begin to count all the people who got me through on an hour to hour, day to day, week to week basis.

Since that fateful day, I have experienced the arrival of my first 2 grandchildren, the boundless love of my family, met wonderful people who I would have NEVER encountered before, and have come to realize the incredible happiness a cup of coffee on my front porch swing can give me.

No matter what happens in the days and years to come, I know that God has a plan for me and unfortunately cancer must have been in that plan.

I thank him every night for giving me that day, and I ask him for the next.

Nancy Dollar, 58, is a retired elementary school teacher.