by Kathryn Ferrara & Allison W. Gryphon
Peggy Eddy Miller. Married for thirty-one years. Four kids. Owner of two family run Kansas City businesses, MMG Frozen Drink Rentals Company and Memory Productions Videos. At 57, Peggy was happily living life when her 24 year old son, Bret, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Peggy Eddy Miller. Married for thirty-one years. Four kids. Owner of two family run Kansas City businesses, MMG Frozen Drink Rentals Company and Memory Productions Videos. At 57, Peggy was happily living life when her 24 year old son, Bret, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
What
do you do when you get that call? After fear, shock and the feeling of helplessness
ripped through her world, Peggy pulled it together.
Surrounded
by family and friends, she fought for her son by educating herself, being
pro-active with the doctors and holding tight to prayer. Peggy took on cancer
as her son’s primary caretaker and self-proclaimed “administrative assistant”
which as any cancer fighter will tell you, is of the upmost importance.
After a mastectomy and four rounds of chemo, there is no
evidence of disease in Bret’s body.
With
her newfound knowledge and fierce courage, Peggy supports her son’s campaign to
raise awareness and fight breast cancer through The Bret Miller 1T Foundation
and through sharing her perspective as both mother and advocate.
How did cancer come into
your life?
It
took seven years and Bret with the lump under his right nipple and a doctor
finally thinking it was something more than calcium.
When was your son
diagnosed?
April
28, 2010. Bret was driving from his first job to his second and the doctor
calls his cell phone, not even asking could he talk or anything, and says, “I
just wanted to let you know you have cancer.”
Bret was on a busy traffic way and almost wrecked his SUV. Then he called his dad. We both were at our
office desks and I said, “Was that Bret?” and he said, “Yes. The doctor called
and he has breast cancer.”
How did you know what to
do?
My
instincts took hold and I called the doctor, who was not available of course,
so I called a good friend who works in pathology, Mary. She said, “Calm down. He
will get through this.” She told me to
get the pathology report and she would let me know what was going on. I got the report. The first words out of Mary’s mouth were, “Bret
can beat this.” That was all I needed to
hear.
How did your world change
with your son’s diagnosis?
We
were in cancer overload.
What was the hardest part
of watching Bret fight cancer?
Not
being able to take the pain away.
What was the best part of
fighting cancer with Bret?
The
people we have met along the journey.
How did you get through
the day-to-day of Bret's cancer fight?
Lots
of prayer.
What advice do you have
for friends, family and co-workers of cancer fighters?
Pray
and give support.
What advice do you have
for medical professionals?
Listen
to your patients.
What advice do you have
for other cancer fighters?
Fight.
Do not give up.
What are your hopes and
dreams for Bret?
To
continue spreading the word of awareness and early detection.
For you, in one word, what
is cancer?
Battle.
To
learn more about Peggy, Bret and The Bret Miller 1T Foundation, visit www.CheckThem.org
Next
week we will post our interview with Peggy's son Bret.
Thank YOU for helping us Build AWARENESS and Early Detection 1 Boob at a TIME!
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