Sharing Miracles

Jerry Mathers

admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:24:57 +0000

Having diabetes came as a big shock to me. When I finished “Leave it to Beaver”, I went to a regular high school. I did a little acting…Lassie, My Three Sons…but I pretty much withdrew from the acting profession. I came back to it later in life, and appeared on a new show called “The New Leave it to Beaver” which I did for 10 years…102 episodes…and those were long hours. I had a fairly young family at the time, two daughters and a son. And, I’d be away from the house for 12-14 hours a day. So when I finished that show I said…”You know, I’m gonna retire now, this is the good life.” I started eating way too much, and not doing a lot of exercise. I put on about 45 or 50 pounds. When I was getting ready to turn 50, a good friend who is a doctor cajoled me into get checked. I finally went in, and she asked me if I wanted to see my kids get married and hold my grandbabies. I said…of course! That’s when she told me that if I didn’t do something about my high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, I’d be dead in three to five years.

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Joey Pantoliano

kphelps — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:23:10 +0000

I was making my latest movie, Canvas, where I play the husband of a woman with schizophrenia. My research, and the experience of making the film, got me thinking about myself.

Several days before we started shooting, I talked to a friend of mine, Charlie, who actually married my wife and me. He told me a few jokes, we planned on Thanksgiving, and then two days later my wife called to say he’d committed suicide. There was no indication that it was coming.

Charlie was the guy you went to with your problems, he was the guy that always cheered you up. I got scared when Charlie killed himself because I had complete apathy about what he had done. I didn’t realize that subconsciously, I wanted to check out. I kept thinking about the peace and comfort that would come to me if I didn’t exist anymore. Why should I exist? I wasn’t a help to anybody. I’d already gotten everything I ever wanted. All I ever wanted to do was be an actor, all I ever wanted to do was be successful. (more…)

Tony Snow

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 06:59:59 +0000

The first couple of weeks I was absolutely scared stiff. In the period between diagnosis and surgery, I was a wreck. But the funny thing is that once I got into surgery, and started chemo, it was like a sporting event. You’ve got something to do and at that point it was worse for family and friends than it was for me. They’re on the sidelines watching, and it’s scary because they don’t really know what’s going on. Once you’re engaged and doing the things you love and back into a normal daily round of activity, I think it gives you strength and you don’t spend a lot of time feeling sorry for yourself. There were a couple important things I did in battling cancer. One is that I decided not to be a hero. I actually announced on my radio program and told people to pray for me. I think a lot of times people think they can withdraw and thereafter, they lose the opportunity for friends and neighbors to do what comes naturally, which is to reach out and help and that is a really important part [of recovery]. (more…)

Montel Williams

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 06:59:59 +0000

When the neurologist said the words - “You have MS,” it hit me like a brick. I thought the diagnosis was a death sentence. I’d heard of multiple sclerosis, but I didn’t really know what it was. I knew it meant excruciating pain and that eventually I could lose control of my body. I also knew there was no cure. That was enough to plunge me into the depths of despair. During the next two months, I experienced the lowest moments of my life. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I became so despondent that I considered ending it all. (more…)

Coach Kay Yow

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 06:59:59 +0000

My strength comes from my faith. And all of the organizations, the people that are raising money for research, give a lot of cancer patients hope because a new drug can be discovered anytime. I’m on drugs that were discovered in the 90s and 2000 — and they are extending my life. I think all of the qualities that are necessary to be a winner as a person, give you the opportunity to be a winner whether it’s on the court, or battling cancer, or in your job, or in relationships. (more…)

Sean Swarner

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Watch The Video
I am a two-time cancer survivor and living proof of triumph against all odds. At age 13, I was diagnosed with life-threatening Advanced Stage IV Hodgkin’s Disease. My prognosis was critical, and doctors did not expect me to live more than three months. Yet treatment after treatment, I improved. My family felt my turnaround was nothing short of a miracle - until the unimaginable happened. Two years later, at age 15, doctors found a cancerous tumor in my chest wall. It was Askin’s Sarcoma, another, entirely different and potentially fatal form of cancer. This time, doctors gave me only two weeks. (more…)

Mayte Prida

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:40:10 +0000

Cancer is one of the greater tests that a human being can face. Almost everyone these days is touched by the disease — either personally or someone who they love. I understand. I know the emotions you feel because I have felt them too: incredulity, distress, desperation. Surviving cancer is not easy, but it is full of blessings if we decide to find them and are open to receive them. (more…)

Shirley Sobolewski

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:41:34 +0000

In February of 2006 I lost my job, and as a result I also lost my health coverage. My first and foremost concern was my medications. I take 13 medications, mostly for severe diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease. My meds are what keep me alive. My private physician gave me samples to get me by, but I knew they wouldn’t last forever. So, I started cutting them in half to try to stretch the meds until a solution could be found. I began making phone call after phone call to numerous agencies, asking for help, but got nothing but denial. In the meantime, my health started to deteriorate. I also was seeing the Montel commercial for PPA on TV constantly, but I ignored it. I was totally convinced that NOBODY would give me medication for free without having some kind of gimmick attached…. (more…)

Raymond Strother

kphelps — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:13:45 +0000

“I really, really hate to tell you this,” is how it all began. Prostate cancer! Virulent prostate cancer! A bastard of a disease looking for other organs to attack.
My father died an agonizing death because he refused to be treated. My doctor, a wise and thoughtful man in Washington, D.C., told me that the same cancer that killed my father was likely to be in my future. We stepped up the schedule of my PSA tests. Every ninety days I drained a few centimeters of blood into a tiny glass vial as an investment in a future…ten minutes of my life for a painless and simple test my father refused. Cancer! My doctor was right but I was ready. I had already made my decision. I had too many books to write, too many grand children to teach fly fishing and tall story telling. I would fight. (more…)

Mollie Fennell Hillyer

admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:03:15 +0000

Mine is a story of second chances. In 2002, after a divorce, I moved back to New Orleans. I was lucky enough to start seeing a man whom I had dated back in 1985. On June 11, 2005, I married this wonderful man. We started our married life in Pass Christian, MS. Two months later Katrina came rushing towards us and we evacuated to Mobile, AL, where my husband’s son lived. We lost everything. We were blessed that we did not lose any friends or family.

We spent months going back and forth to Pass Christian trying to salvage things. I had not been feeling well for awhile. Our first year anniversary was on June 11, 2006, but I was too ill to celebrate. A few days later I was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. It was then when I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small-cell lung cancer. The tumors were in both lungs. One was the size of an orange. I had 12 tumors throughout my liver. I had only a few months to live. (more…)