Yvonne Ortega - Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer: 60 Inspirational Readings

Cancer survivor Yvonne Ortega has written a wonderfully honest and uplifting book. Those who walk through the valley of the shadow of cancer no longer have to travel alone. They have Yvonne to walk through it, hand in hand, with them.

Donna Partow, author, Becoming the Woman I Want to Be

Yvonne Ortegas honesty will create a bond with readers and encourage them to face their own pain and fear armed with the Hope Builders from Gods Word that sustained her. This is must reading for anyone diagnosed with cancer as well as for their family and friends.

Marlene Bagnull, author, My Turn to Care

This book can help women as they go through their experience with cancer, but its equally helpful for families and caregivers.

Cecil Murphey, coauthor, 90 Minutes in Heaven

Boldly honest, marvelously comforting, and desperately needed. Yvonne Ortega clearly and unashamedly brings the struggles and, yes, the joys of surviving cancer to light.

Louise Bergmann DuMont, author, Faith-Dipped Chocolate

Yvonne Ortega knows firsthand how frightening cancer is for any woman. She walks with you along the path of discovery through surgery and beyond, pointing you to Gods help and hope in the midst of these valleys. Shell quickly become your friend as you discover youre not alone.

Lin Johnson, director, Write-to-Publish Conference; managing editor, Church Libraries

Reading this book brought back all those complicated emotions I felt the year I was diagnosed and treated for cancer. Yvonne Ortega captures them all. If Id had this book back then, I know it would have helped me. I recommend it to all facing their own journeys through cancer.

Amy Givler, MD, author, Hope in the Face of Cancer

Ride the backward roller coaster with Yvonne as your seatmate on a courageous, vulnerable, hope-filled journey through cancer. You wont know whether to laugh or cry but you will know youve found a friend.

Jane Rubietta, author, Resting Place

Finding Hope
for
Your Journey
through
Breast Cancer

60 Inspirational Readings

Yvonne Ortega

a division of Baker Publishing Group
Grand Rapids, Michigan

2007, 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Previously published in 2007 under the title Hope for the Journey through Cancer

E-book edition created 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1365-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

In loving memory of my cousin,
Theresa Shields,
who fought valiantly to the end
in her battle against cancer

Contents

Many people helped me and prayed for me along the way. I thank God for all of them.

Lin Johnson of WordPro Communications and the Write-to-Publish Writers Conference saw the potential for this book, and she kept me on task at the American Christian Writers Mentoring Clinic in Nashville.

Dennis Hensley suggested I submit two or three of my cancer devotions to The Secret Place, so I did, and they were published.

Members of the Richmond Christians Who Write (RCWW) encouraged me at the monthly meetings and prayed for me, especially Coleen Kenny and Patrice Jones. Barbara Baranowski, an RCWW member, graciously edited my manuscript.

Debby Bissette, Donna Hines, Karen Schlender, and Arleta Turnbull gave me their input as cancer survivors. Glenda Brost and Carolyn Griffith expressed their viewpoints as family members of cancer patients.

My online writers groupShirley Corder, Ruth Dell, Jan Kerns, and Elaine Heyscritiqued part of my project and prayed for a publisher.

Louise DuMont, Cecil Cec Murphey, and Susan Titus Osborn helped me with my book proposal and told me there was a publisher out there for my book.

Bill Petersen gave me the good newsa contract. Nan Snipes proofread my devotional. Lonnie Hull DuPont and Jessica Miles, my editors at Revell, assisted me in the process from manuscript to published book.

My Sunday school class prayed, then, when I received my contract, they took me to lunch and presented me with a dozen roses.

My parents have been my cheerleaders in this project from start to finish. I couldnt ask for more supportive parents.

To God be the glory.

In 2001, I joined the ranks of more than one million people in the United States who were diagnosed with cancer that year. Their lives would never be the same. Neither would mine.

I was one of those women out of every seven or eight who are diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in her life.

As I would learn, women respond to cancer in at least four ways. The first response is denial. The woman in denial says, Everything is fine. She denies or suppresses her thoughts and feelings. She may force herself to smile and laugh to keep from disappointing her relatives, friends, and church family. She may repress her thoughts and feelings because she believes others will think less of her. Perhaps she struggles to accept her human limitations. She has always met the needs of others and ignored her own. She wonders what people will do if shes not available. She tells herself that if she cries, she might not be able to stop. She refuses to frown or shed a tear since she fears that would ruin her testimony.

The woman in denial smiles on the outside while her heart breaks on the inside. She may wear bright colors to convince others she feels happy. She whistles or sings hymns when she would rather scream or sob. She has lived in denial for so long that she doesnt know what she thinks or feels anymore. She asks others what prayer requests they have, but she doesnt share her own. When complications arise, she pretends they dont exist. She thinks the world is full of joy, and she has to continue to spread sunshine.

The second response to cancer is negativity. The negative woman says, Im going to die. Everything seems threatening to the negative woman. She walks around in despair. She anticipates her imminent death from this disease. The slightest pain means the surgeon didnt remove all the cancer, and it has spread to her vital organs. She thinks that the medical oncologist doesnt understand how sick she gets from an aspirin, much less from chemotherapy. The radiation oncologist will surely burn her. The thought of going to the hospital terrifies her. She has heard all about staph infections, and she worries shell get one and die. She writes or updates her will. She may even schedule appointments with funeral directors to compare coffins and prices. She must talk to the pastor and may set up her funeral service. She is unable to smile, much less laugh. She fears that surgery and treatment will be ineffective. Instead of praying, she cries and endures sleepless nights.

Family and friends try to offer support. But as far as the negative woman is concerned, they dont understand and therefore cant help her. This woman may resign from her job since she thinks she wont need the money any longer. She may give away clothes and possessions and write fare-well letters. Hobbies and interests no longer appeal to her. She stares in the mirror daily for signs of physical deterioration. She may refuse to answer the phone or the door. Her Bible collects dust. Funeral March plays repeatedly in her head. Life has come to an end for her.