Similar stories:
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Monica Blanco-Etheridge: 'Cancer never entered my mind'
Monica Blanco-Etheridge said she was raised like a lot of Hispanic women, believing doctors are always right.
When she was 18, she trusted her family doctor when he said the tiny lump she discovered was probably just a cyst and nothing to worry about. He never ordered tests.
At 35, she noticed the lump had grown.
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Dr. Vassi Gardikas: 'I knew I was going to live'
Dr. Vassi Gardikas had been operating on women with breast cancer for years, so it didn't really surprise her when she was diagnosed with the disease.
She knew she wasn't immune.
And she knew it was good news when the pathologist told her what type of cancer she had -- ductal carcinoma in situ, confined to one site.
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Seniors face conflicting advice on cancer tests
Arthur Cohen was a healthy, active 85-year-old when his Toronto doctor recommended a colonoscopy to check for early signs of colorectal cancer.
The colonoscopy - Cohen's first - revealed two polyps. During surgery to remove them, the elderly man's colon was perforated and a cascade of complications followed. Cohen developed sepsis, peritonitis and kidney failure and stayed in intensive care for a full month.
Of course, most colonoscopies go smoothly, for older as well as younger adults. Still, Cohen's son Carl, of Skokie, Ill., wonders about his dad's decision to have the procedure. "It never occurred to him that he could suffer a major quality-of-life setback," Cohen said.
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Breast cancer — two words you never want to hear
I was sobbing, shivering in a pink paper vest that opened in the front. The doctor's assistant had told me to take off my blouse and bra and put the vest on. The assistant was nice and did her best to console me, saying it was OK to cry: "It's fine. Everyone does it. Everyone is scared."
She took my vital signs - I think - and walked out. I watched my tears splash onto the floor. Reality was setting in. I was terrified.
I have breast cancer.
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EDITORIAL: Dealing with domestic abuse
Fresno's Marjaree Mason Center has established itself as a well-run agency that plays a vital role in the San Joaquin Valley. But that has not sheltered the center from losing government funding during the economic crisis. Now the community must find ways to help the Marjaree Mason Center.
The agency has been forced to turn away domestic violence victims at a time when its services are even more in need. In an unstable economy, domestic violence cases increase. The experts tell us that financial problems bring on family stress, and then alcohol or drugs often get thrown into the mix.
Last year, the Marjaree Mason Center turned away 120 people needing its services. With reduced staffing, the center has turned away 67 domestic abuse victims in just three months. Executive Director Pam Kallsen said these most often are mothers with young children.
Pam Kallsen enjoys life more today. When she goes to a concert, she splurges on the best seats.
Cancer changed her.
First she was scared, then she got mad.
"I was just angry that cancer had invaded my body," Kallsen said.
"I'm a good person. I do good things. ... I don't smoke and don't drink to excess."
Kallsen's treatment lasted nearly eight long months -- surgery, then three months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation and three more months of chemotherapy.
She lost much of her hair but missed only two days of work while undergoing treatment. At the time, she was vice president of executive services at Community Medical Centers.
Cancer taught her who her true friends are and what matters.
One of her biggest supporters was her husband, Gene, who cried with her in the bathroom when her hair fell out.
She realized her own strength.
"Now when I encounter difficult things in my life, I think, 'I fought breast cancer.' "
People and memories matter more today, Kallsen said.
"The memory sharing is more important than the memory of gifts," she said.
"Life is very precious and fragile."
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: Listen and watch as Tracy Correa tells her story, and four Valley breast cancer survivors talk about their experiences. There also is visual information about the disease.
Life-saving lesson: Get a check-up
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