Rhonda Spinks

In 2009, I was charging through life with zest. Early 30s, newly married, physically fit, I was in the National Guard, teaching at Tulsa Community College (TCC) and working on my master's degree in wildlife biology at Oklahoma State University. The last thing I expected was bad news.

But when I had a lump in my breast checked out, the diagnosis about knocked the breath out of me. It was cancer.

I was devastated. There's no history of cancer in my family. I'd just been married six months. Everything was going well. I was ready to shut down, fold my hands and lie down in the casket. I was in the "why, me" stage, and when I thought about having to take chemo, losing my hair ... I thought I can't do that.

But my pastors at Harmony Worship Center in Tulsa were having none of that. They'd already told me to get the lump checked out. Now, they suggested getting a second opinion at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). And they advised me that this was just a diagnosis, not a death sentence, and that there were other people worse off than I was, and I needed to be a blessing to those folks.

They took my focus off me and put it on trying to bless someone else. And they were right. I discovered it blessed me to pour myself out to others. Throughout my cancer journey, they've helped me get my attitude right when I've gotten down or begun struggling. They've been warriors on my behalf.

I made the call to CTCA and became a patient there. CTCA is an amazing place. It not only doesn't look like a hospital, but everybody who works there...they're all loving on you, smiling, talking to you, giving you a hug, making you feel so cared for.

I learned my cancer was Stage3c. I underwent a mastectomy, followed by nine months of chemotherapy and radiation. And, yes, I did lose my hair ... but on my terms. My pastors, a husband and wife team, shaved my head before chemo started, and then helped me with braiding and adding extensions as soon as possible when it started growing back in.

What I'd dreaded so much actually is kind of a fun memory for me. They prayed over me; we sang songs, laughed and made an event of both losing the hair and growing it in.

But, I also kept on traveling to Stillwater twice a week to take classes for my master's, even when I was receiving daily radiation treatments. I continued to teach at TCC. I stayed in the National Guard, and I even applied and was chosen for a coveted internship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department. And, I looked for people to bless whenever I was at CTCA getting my own treatments and check-ups.

I finished treatment in December 2009. At my six-month check-up, my tests showed no signs of cancer.

Looking back, my prayers haven't always been answered as I thought they'd be  God didn't just take away my cancer without surgery and treatment, even though He could  but I learned more about God and faith because of that. Scripture I'd always known in my head, now stood out like 3-D images when I read the familiar words; these were no longer just words applied to others, they were now things I needed and things happening to me.

I think most of us have a sense of invincibility about us. We don't realize, until we get a life-threatening diagnosis, that we can be here today and gone tomorrow, like the Bible tells us. But I do now. And cancer has taught me that every day I can make a difference. Every day, I want to be the best I can be and I want to bless others.

My pastors and my husband were beside me all the way. They kept my focus on the right things and not on my cancer. They assured me that this was just a passing thing. My husband never once complained. He just pitched in. You know, you say "in sickness or in health" in those wedding vows, but who expects to ever have to live them out? But he did.

I didn't tell many people all that was happening in my life. But, I think now that it's better to tell your story ... that you shouldn't keep all these things inside. Each person actually owes it to the present generation and the ones to come to share wisdom gained from experiences lived through. They can use the valuable wisdom and experience that's shared, or the testimony of how God's worked to help make you an "overcomer."

If you're going through treatment and need encouragement, there is life after cancer. Please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjtq6cYX6j0. I think you'll be blessed.

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