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letter from Tiffany Marley...A
letter from Tiffany Marley...
I want to thank the Soroptimist International of the Verdugos for their emotional and financial support during a very difficult battle in my life. This is a battle that I am still fighting and winning—the battle against locally advanced breast cancer. It is a great surprise to a young woman to be struck with such a disease in her reproductive years. The cancers that young women face are usually very aggressive and there is usually no family history of cancer. Treatment can be very expensive and take almost a year if it progresses to Stage III. Even with insurance, my share of the expenses and my loss in wages made it difficult just to pay for the chemotherapy. SITV helped me pay the remainder of my bill that I was struggling with.
There has to be a way to help more women find cancer earlier. Remember to do those monthly self-exams. Consider doing a mammogram before 40. Don’t assume that you can’t get breast cancer while you are pregnant—make sure your obstetrician does a breast exam on your first visit. Lobby for research for better screening tools for young women as ultrasound and mammograms don’t always find tumors on younger breasts. I applaud SITV for all their efforts to increase breast cancer awareness.
As for me, I finished my radiation treatment last November and my cancer remains in remission. I am winning this battle and will continue to fight cancer for the rest of my life. I will be there in spirit for the Bowling for Boobies fundraiser but won’t be able to make it this year. Even though my savings were depleted, we were able to save again for the closing costs and buy a small home in Austin, Texas. I have always dreamed of owning a home and hope to adopt someday and fill our place with children. I am also interested in doing work with a group here that is focusing on issues that face young adults surviving cancer.
My greatest wish is that this is the most successful Bowling for Boobies event ever!
Tiffany Marley