"Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." --Mattie Stepanek

I'll never forget the afternoon my mom learned she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. A doctor walked into our hospital room and showed us some images of her recent CT scan. She had a cancerous tumor in her pancreas that was wrapped around a main artery. Surgery was not an option. Because the cancer had moved to other organs, the doctor told us she had 6 months to live without chemo or 1 year with chemo.

Have you ever been in a room and had this kind of news delivered to you? There is no way to describe the hopelessness. You are surrounded by people you love but there is no one to lean on because everyone is crumbling. After watching my mom and dad embrace and cry for a while, I went over to hug her as well. As she hugged me, she rubbed my back. She was trying to offer comfort only a mom could offer in such a situation.

She looked at all of us and said she was sorry. She was sorry she had cancer and that the news was so hurtful for us. She was such a loving mom and always thought of others first. She was nurturing in the most difficult situation you can imagine. 

The first thing my mom asked for from others, was HOPE. She needed to have hope. The doctor was so grime and certain of her timeline. We let that doctor knock us down for a few days but we all banded together and researched and tried to learn everything we could about this type of cancer. We read books, we interviewed doctors and we reviewed scientific studies. It didn't take long for my mom to put together her own protocol. She changed her diet, she began meditation, she did everything she felt she could to help change her outcome.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain." -- Vivian Greene  (a quote my mom lived by)

We believe the changes she made did help her stay with us a little longer. Unfortunately, this cancer is relentless. It learns how to recover from chemo and it learns how to survive with chemo. No matter what changes we made, it adapted. This cancer is currently incurable. We want to see this change. We want to see people outwit this cancer. We believe it can be done. We hope you will help us support the efforts needed to find a cure. 

I'll never be more proud to call Diane Preston my mom. She was a warrior like I had never seen before. Even on her darkest days, she was able to find hope. We will continue on her pursuit of HOPE as well. Now, our hope is that this cancer can be defeated so no one will have to sit in a hospital room and hear how much longer they have to live. We want to help offer HOPE. 

Thank you for your support! Our family is very grateful and appreciative.