Page 35 of Captiva Book Club

Getting up from the table, Gretchen greeted Maggie.

“Hello Maggie. It’s good to see you again.”

Maggie smiled. “Hi Gretchen, I didn’t think I’d be back in the hospital again so soon, but here we are.”

Gretchen nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear what your cancer journey has been like. I can tell you mine first if you’d like.”

Maggie nodded. “Yes, please do.”

“Well, I’m thirty-four, and have breast cancer that has spread to my lungs. So, with lung metastases…”

Maggie stopped her. “Wait, I want to hear about your cancer. I do, it’s just I’d like to know more about you first. Who is Gretchen Potter?”

Gretchen smiled and looked down at the table, but didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry if I seem so abrupt. It’s just that I hate letting cancer define who we are. It’s not who I am, it’s only something that, for a brief period in my life, I’ll have. It will either be gone or I will die with it, but it still won’t define me. The illness isn’t who you are either. So…tell me who you are.”

“Okay, well, I’m a thirty-four-year-old woman, mother, sister, daughter and friend. I was born in Wichita, Kansas, and am the youngest of four. I’m a singer, or at least I was a singer before all this happened. I’m married to my high-school sweetheart, Bradley, and we have two little girls. I love kids, and so when my husband and I decided to have a family, we set about working to build one right away. We moved to Florida right after we got married and have been living here ever since.”

“What does your husband do for work?”

“He’s a contractor for a building company. There’s a lot of construction work that goes on down here.”

Maggie smiled. “Okay, now, please tell me about your cancer.”

“Well, my mammogram showed there was something, it was small, but they thought it could be cancer. The biopsy proved it, and so I had the surgery. They said they got it all out, but I had to have chemotherapy to be sure, so of course, I opted for that. That was two years ago. Then they found more cancer in my lung, so the battle continues. Fortunately, the medicine I’m taking is working, so at least I can plan things, but the reality that I will likely die from this illness is always on my mind.”

“That must have been devastating to hear.”

“It was very hard, and I wasn’t quite as positive that I’d beat it again. I’m living my life. It hasn’t been easy, but the support group has been everything to me. That’s why I tell everyone I can about it. We need to give back whenever we can.”

Maggie nodded. “How do I volunteer?”

“First, I need to know what your journey with cancer has been. Are you at least a year post treatment?”

“No, as a matter of fact, we’re looking into whether this new lump is cancer or not.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry, but you likely wouldn’t qualify for it yet, at least not as a person giving support and comfort to a cancer patient.”

Gretchen hesitated before continuing, “However, Maggie, you might benefit from the support yourself, if it turns out the cancer has returned.”

Maggie’s heart sank. She was so excited about volunteering, and now she was thick in the patient position again…a place she hated. All her talk of not letting cancer define her, and yet, it had excluded her from the one thing she wanted more than anything.

“What if this lump is nothing? What then?”

“Well, when was your final treatment for your original cancer, has it been more than a year?”

“Yes, it has. Is that good?”

Gretchen nodded. “It’s very good. In that case, you’d most likely be accepted into the program. Reach for Recovery is a community of people who want to be a positive support for those who are not only going through cancer treatment, or living with cancer, it’s a chance to help them see their life in a positive, hopeful way. You become an example of what life post-cancer can look like.”

Maggie felt renewed determination. She would march into the doctor’s office and hear the words, “It’s not cancer.”

She no longer believed in coincidence. She and Gretchen were meant to meet, and it was for that reason, more than any other, that Maggie felt certain there was no cancer in her body.

CHAPTER 12

Maggie returned to Dr. Renolt’s office and sat patiently in the waiting room. Her meeting with Gretchen Potter gave her hope that there was only good news to come. Even with her optimism, she couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing up and down.

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