In Tune With Pink

WOW!!! Where do I begin to descibe how I felt tonight?!? It was awesome beyond words. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, tonight's event "In Tune with Pink" was an event held at GC&SU to honor breast cancer survivors, fighters, and those who lost the battle to not only breast cancer, but to any type of cancer. It was also held to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It was an evening filled with wonderful music, amazing food, and wonderful people. I was asked to speak at this even tonight as a guest, which was such an honor to be given this opportunity, but I was completely suprised by the amount of support and love. Needless to say, I almost cried 3 times while I was reading my story, but I'm quite a sap anyways. It's hard not to cry when I think about all of the things cancer has brought me through, both good and bad. The most emotional part of the night was the candle lighting ceremony during the intermission. The first candle was lit in honor of me (That was another suprise), followed by the pink candles which represent the breast cancer survivors present at the event, the purple candles represented those who have fought other types of cancer, and the white candles were lit to honor loved ones who have passed away from cancer. I lit a white candle in honor of several loved ones tonight. It's been almost 5 months since my grandmother lost her fight to lymphoma. It was a terrible way to lose someone we all loved so much, but in her case, death was not a mortal enemy- it was her friend. I had never seen anyone suffer from cancer like she did because when my other relatives passed away, I was too young to experience it. I will have to share her story with you on another night. Every time I have a rough day, I think about how brave she was. The last time my grandma and I spoke, she was in the hospital going through chemo trying to fight a losing battle, but she had the most amazing spirits despite the fact that she was crying because she felt so sick from the chemo. I remember my grandpa wiping the tears off her face, taking her by the hand and telling her "I know it's rough, but if I can go through it, I know you can too." Sadly, my grandfather passed away 38 days after my grandmother did, but I know if they were still here today, they would have told me the same thing. I can't help but think of all God has brought me and my family through this year alone, and all he's going to do in the future. The day I was diagnosed, my granny drove me to the doctor's office to get the results of my biopsy and I told her "I don't know what the doctor is going to have in store for us today, but I know this battle is God's. It was his before any of this ever took place." And that's the case with all things in life. All of our good times and bad times happen for a reason. Tonight was a special night I'll always remember for the rest of my life!