When I was diagnosed with
cancer, one of the first things I did was call the Wellness Program at
the
Cancer
Center
in
Santa Barbara
. I told them I had all
these feelings I did not know what to do with.
There were several classes I could have taken, but I chose
poetry. From the moment my
hand put pen to paper, I haven’t stopped writing.
The words came flowing out.
I wrote in class, in the middle of the night, pulling off on
the side of the road. It didn’t matter where I was, I couldn’t
stop.
I didn’t
realize it was a book until about half way through.
I thought if I could help one other person with a bad diagnosis
then I would be happy.
I enrolled
in the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference in 2003 with much
trepidation, to see what any of the teachers there thought about my
transcript. I not only won
an award for non-fiction, but I also found my editor (Marla Miller),
who was teaching marketing and said she wanted to be a part of my
project.
I wrote my
book, Marla Miller edited it, Bo Criss helped design it and the Cancer
Center Wellness Program of Santa Barbara published it.
My hope is
to let people know that cancer is becoming a manageable disease in our
lifetime. That it’s
important to be the captain of your ship, to get your team together,
get all the knowledge you can and go to work with your doctors to find
the best treatment out there for you.
We need to be pro-active in the decision making of our disease.
When we get a diagnosis, that’s not the end, that’s the
beginning! There are new
treatments, new medicines and new procedures being approved every day.
As Emile
Zola said “If you ask me what I came into this world to do, I will
tell you: I came to live
out loud.” My wish is to
inspire you, to say to you that together, you and “I Can Do This.”
Beverlye
Hyman Fead
