October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to www.breastcancer.org, approximately 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.
“Cancer,” a word that is all too familiar to many people, including this writer whose mother passed away at the young age of 59 on 12 June 1997 just before the noon day hour, having lost her battle with breast cancer. Throughout her illness, she refused to complain or to focus only on herself and what she was going through. Hers was a strong courage coupled with a will and determination to fight to the end. It was Mary Anne Radmacher who said, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”
In this edition of “Music in the Key of Life,” in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mary Hiett shares her song “Journey of a Pink Heart.” This is the backstory of the song.
Everybody has a cancer story! Ten years ago, when my daughter Noelle was diagnosed with melanoma cancer, we were still living in an era where we did not hear about it too often.
Four years ago, when I wrote “Journey of a Pink Heart,” we were just starting to hear about cancer more and more. It is amazing how things have changed so drastically in the last decade. cancer has become almost as prevalent as the common cold.
When you hear of people fighting cancer, you think of brave warriors and caregivers. Some lose the battle and others win. However, there is one common denominator – because of the heartless face of cancer, lives and families are changed FOREVER.
I have pondered and reflected on how cancer picks her victims, or how she loses her count. It does not matter the color of the ribbon that you wear – pink, teal, black, plum (a care giver), or one of the other cancer recognition colors – you are fighting a horrific battle.
Whether you are in the clutches of cancer or some other monstrous malady, your journey in this life will change, and it will change YOU! One day you awake, enjoying your busy and full life, and the next, you are fighting for your life. You find yourself, climbing to reach the pinnacle of your mountain.
This is a journey song! It is a song of survival! So, let it be your “Fight Song”! FIGHT, BELIEVE, and TRUST, holding on to HOPE, because it is not about odds!
