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12/03/2018

Survive Change Through Communication And Connection

Sometimes life lessons come from surprising places

Sometimes life lessons come from surprising places. In early 2004, just nine months after completing treatment for breast cancer, my wife, Katie, was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer.

At that time, her probability of survival for more than five years was less than 10 percent. The thoughts of losing my beloved best friend, our 12-year-old and 10-year-old daughters losing their wonderful mother and Katie not seeing our girls grow up overwhelmed me in the early days of this cancer journey.

Our family, friends and health care team were there for us, from the time we received the news through Katie’s recovery from two surgeries and the many months of enduring two different regimens of chemotherapy. Yes, there were hard days yet it was a time that was rich in relationships and connection. I found my nerves were calmed and I became more optimistic that Katie would survive. This year we celebrated Katie’s 14th year of being free from ovarian cancer.  

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