MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022 - 19

It really is hard to believe that 20 years
ago, I had to retire early from my job as an
accountant for the Department of Defense
because my health had taken a drastic
decline. I was only 34 years old. It took
me by complete surprise. I really enjoyed
my job and I enjoyed being around my
co-workers. My oncologist at the time,
encouraged me to quit work and focus on
living while I had the chance, especially
being a young mother of two daughters.
Preparing to die was in the back of my
mind. How do you prepare to die at such a
young age, and with two small daughters?
I did start completing some necessary paperwork
and even wrote out an obituary or
two. I found myself telling my little girls
to make sure that they were best friends
for each other because they would need to
rely on each other in my absence. This was
very hard to do. I was mentally preparing
myself to die. I remember thinking that
I could only give my young daughters so
much information because of their ages.
It makes me laugh now, because at one
time, my daughter Alexis said, " Mom we
know, you have already told us this. " I
guess I had reiterated it more times than
I thought. I was very scared at the thought
of not being here to raise my babies, so I
was only doing what I thought was best.
I felt that I was running out of time and
just had to get the information out there. I
wasn't in any counseling programs at that
time nor were my daughters. There were
not as many support groups available 20
years ago as there are today, so I went with
what I felt was right.
Going in and out of the hospital was
seemingly my norm at one point. I remember
in 2002, shortly after my first
metastatic diagnosis, I had a scan done
and the results revealed that I had a pulmonary
embolism-blood clot-in my
lungs. That landed me in the hospital for
an entire week. I was on complete bed
rest and couldn't even get up to go to the
bathroom. I also remember having my
oldest daughter, who was only five years
old, spend one night with me in the hospital.
She laid in bed with me that night,
which was very comforting.
During this time, I had a lot on my plate.
I was diagnosed with the blood clot, going
through chemo induced menopause, and
raising two young daughters at the same
MY LIFE MATTERS
SPRING 2022
19
Meet Terlisa. In November 2021, she
celebrated two major events: Her 23rd
cancerversary and her 20th stage IV
cancerversary. The survival rate for people
living with metastatic breast cancer is lower
than it should be. Because of this, Terlisa
is a true beacon of hope for many. She is a
woman who has overcome many odds. Even
more so, with a smile on her face.
MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022

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