An Inspiration

Mike and Becky were good friends in our ward (church congregation) in Orem five years ago. Mike and Christian loved to mountain bike together. Mike loves to do death-defying tricks on his bike, and he helped Christian hone his skills as well. And I remember Becky telling the story of how she delivered her second baby without an epidural, and after the fact found out that her daughter's head circumference was like the 100th percentile. As she was sharing this story with us, we were all howling with laughter and horrified at the same time.

Less than two months ago, Becky was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy on May 14. Then the doctors did more tests and found some cancer on one of her lungs. So she had one of the lobes of her right lung removed a couple of weeks later. Now they have found more cancer in her body and two days ago she started chemotherapy.

I have been following her story on both her facebook page and on her blog. She updates every chance she gets. And I have to say: I am blown away by how upbeat and positive she has been. Last week she had a head shaving party, where she and her husband both shaved their heads in preparation for the chemotherapy, and I think around 20 other people (both men and women) shaved their heads too. Apparently it was a blast. (She lives in the Pacific Northwest now, and we haven't seen them since they moved from Orem.) She also had a henna tattoo artist tattoo henna over her entire head, and she posted pictures. It looks beautiful! She is such an inspiration to me, with her positive attitude and her willingness to share with us.

I can't remember exactly how old Becky is, but I'm pretty sure she is right around my age (I'm 33). And she has four small children. Becky is so open and friendly with everyone. She would love positive thoughts and prayers sent her way. And I'm sure she would love you to visit her blog and give her some comment love and support. At the very least, click over to check out her henna head. It's awesome.

The Veatches Beat Cancer