Thank You Letter from American Lung Association for Article, 2006


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Joy Journal By Terri Rimmer

On March 19, 2008 I found out my oldest sister Joy has Stage One breast cancer. I was going to wait to write about this. It seems that I’m being insensitive (maybe I am) by going ahead and writing about Joy’s diagnosis. Those last two words in that sentence I just wrote look like a foreign language to me. Joy’s Diagnosis. It doesn’t seem real. I’ve always been one to have delayed reactions to things. When my parents told me they were getting divorced as a child I didn’t cry right away, but retreated to my room. I’ve been that way ever since. On the surface I guess it would appear that I am cold but that is hardly the truth at all. I just have always used writing to deal with tragedies and problems in my life. Joy, 52, didn’t get her mammogram done last year because she was busy although she had gotten it the year before. Five years ago her husband of 25 years died in a car accident. She still has her grown daughters (my nieces) and her four grand...
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