MY STORY
by Joellen Putnam
On a fresh fall morning, my family and I accompanied a friend to his church.. While our intention was simply to visit, we were so captivated by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we made it our new church home. Several Sundays later, we ran into a couple that we knew through my husband’s company. We had connected briefly at work-related social functions, but when we saw each other that day at church and realized we held a common faith, we quickly became good friends.
A year later, my friend told me about her lifelong girlfriend, Christine, who was experiencing her third recurrence of breast cancer. It was Stage 4 and Christine wasn’t doing well. Whenever we got together, we prayed for Christine, and I did my best to support my friend as she supported hers.
I often thought about Christine who had a daughter, Hanna, the same age as mine. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for a young mother to know that she was dying. Christine had no family history of breast cancer nor did she have any risk factors. At thirty-eight years old, she was healthy, vibrant and beautiful; until cancer came like a viper in the night.
As I thought about Christine, it occurred to me that we had many things in common. I was thirty-nine years old with a young daughter; healthy and active; no family history, no risk factors. As I thought about these things, it occurred to me that I hadn’t done a breast exam in awhile, so I did one right then. Boy, was I shocked to find a lump. I was even more shocked three weeks later when I, too, was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. I was among the 5% of women under the age of forty who are diagnosed each year.
My treatment included 2 surgeries, 4 rounds of chemotherapy, 10 years of hormonal therapy, and a lot of prayer! All that was in 2006. Currently, I am cancer-free and living out of the fullness of my healing.
by Joellen Putnam
On a fresh fall morning, my family and I accompanied a friend to his church.. While our intention was simply to visit, we were so captivated by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we made it our new church home. Several Sundays later, we ran into a couple that we knew through my husband’s company. We had connected briefly at work-related social functions, but when we saw each other that day at church and realized we held a common faith, we quickly became good friends.
A year later, my friend told me about her lifelong girlfriend, Christine, who was experiencing her third recurrence of breast cancer. It was Stage 4 and Christine wasn’t doing well. Whenever we got together, we prayed for Christine, and I did my best to support my friend as she supported hers.
I often thought about Christine who had a daughter, Hanna, the same age as mine. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for a young mother to know that she was dying. Christine had no family history of breast cancer nor did she have any risk factors. At thirty-eight years old, she was healthy, vibrant and beautiful; until cancer came like a viper in the night.
As I thought about Christine, it occurred to me that we had many things in common. I was thirty-nine years old with a young daughter; healthy and active; no family history, no risk factors. As I thought about these things, it occurred to me that I hadn’t done a breast exam in awhile, so I did one right then. Boy, was I shocked to find a lump. I was even more shocked three weeks later when I, too, was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. I was among the 5% of women under the age of forty who are diagnosed each year.
My treatment included 2 surgeries, 4 rounds of chemotherapy, 10 years of hormonal therapy, and a lot of prayer! All that was in 2006. Currently, I am cancer-free and living out of the fullness of my healing.
Christine (July 1962 - October 2007) and Hanna
