Angelique | Cancer Personal Project

“The bad guys are gone, and now you are free.”

Thanks to my cancer project I started here, I was introduced to Angelique through Cancer Care Point.  Angelique has undergone so much in her battle with cancer- from the age of 18 she was first diagnosed with hodgkin’s lymphoma after finding a lump in her neck. After undergoing chemo and radiation she went into remission and lived an extremely healthy life for the next 20 years, feeling thankful everyday for her life. In fall of 2011 she returned to see her former oncologist to thank the doctor and share updates on her life.

It was at that visit that the oncologist reminded her to perform self exams and keep careful watch on her health, as she was at a higher risk level for developing breast cancer. Only three months after the visit to her former oncologist, she found a lump. She underwent a double mastectomy, extensive chemotherapy, and 30 treatments of radiation. Thankfully, this last spring her scans proved her to be cancer free.

While I was with Angelique she spoke to me about explaining the disease to her young children, telling them that there were ‘bad guys’ living inside of mommy, and that some days they fight and it takes away her energy. Upon receiving the good news that she had again entered remission from cancer, Angelique came home to flowers from her husband and a card from her son. Inside the card, Angelique’s son had written ‘The bad guys are gone, and now you are free’. And I love how a 6 year old can have so much heart, and how the simplest statement can have so much depth.

Angelique is such a beautiful woman, and her beautiful children and husband look at her with the most genuine gazes of love, and they all are an inspiration.

Thank you, Angelique, for sharing your family with me.

And this photo below pretty much sums up everything. Squeeze your loved ones as tightly as you can. NOW.