I’m Shelley Mohammed and I have been a survivor of breast cancer since 1999. In my journey to recovery I met a quite a few other women who like myself were fighting the same battle to survive. One of those women was Debbie Spencer who had been diagnosed about a month after me.
After just barely 2 years Debbie was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer which meant that hers had returned to stay. Over the next couple of years Debbie bravely fought an uphill battle. She volunteered for many clinical trials, all of which helped to slow the growth of her cancer but failed to halt it’s spread.
Debbie was a single mother of 2 teenagers and while she had a lot of support from her family and friends it was still very hard. There were so many things to consider and her children’s care was always her biggest worry. As she grew weaker, her own care became more critical and one of her concerns then became the question of where will she go when it gets really bad? At home with her kids to care for her? In a hospital? She asked me that question once – where will I go when it’s my time? Our good friend Lynne had passed only months earlier in Langley and the Hospice care she and her family received was amazing. The only beds here in Chilliwack with hospice care was in the hospital which, as we all know, is a great place for healing people but not so great a place to be in peace with your loved ones during those final hours or days. Debbie did try to stay home but it was especially difficult for her kids, so then made the decision to go into the hospital when she became palliative. Debbie passed peacefully surrounded by her family and friends in May 2006.
It was while visiting Debbie in hospital during those final days that the teardrop idea came to me. I didn’t have the heart to finish it though for at least another year and a half. In the last year, we have made over 200 Pink Tears for Breast Cancer and have raised over $10,000 for the Chilliwack Hospice Society.
My pendant design is called “Pink Tears for Breast Cancer”. Many of us affected by this disease have all cried many tears and they represent how we feel inside. Whether tears of frustration, fear, confusion, pain, sadness or joy and happiness, they are tears that result from incredible emotion. I chose a symbol of that raw emotion caused by this disease.
My wish is to help other women like Debbie in our own community. That’s why The Chilliwack Hospice Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation have become important charities for me to place my support. The one thing I have realized is that while it’s important to think globally, I believe it’s also important to act locally.
All of the net proceeds from this pendant will be donated directly to The Chilliwack Hospice Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in Debbie’s memory.
