Juggling Chemo And Kids

Cancer Breast Cancer When a mom hears she has cancer it's a diagnosis that affects the whole family.

by Jessica Taloney

Published: Fri, October 24, 2008 - 5:13 pm CST Last Updated: Fri, October 24, 2008 - 5:15 pm CST

Pam Patrick's life story isn't exactly what she would have written.

"I thought I'll never get it. Nobody in my family has it," says Pam.

On August 31, 2007, a thickness Pam felt on her own skin became the breast cancer diagnosis heard by thousands of women each year. As a mother of four young children, balancing Chemo and kids was the biggest challenge.

"Nobody could love them as good as me," she says. "There was no option for me not to get well. That's the whole reason I did it, just to make sure I'm here for them."

Pam's 11 year old daughter remembers the day her mom broke the news. "She was like y'all come to the living room," says Marisa. Miranda and Jeremy remember the day too. "We were concerned for a long time what it (Chemo) was going to do," says Pam's son, Jeremy. "We knew she felt really bad. Didn't feel like getting up or anything," says Pam's oldest daughter, Miranda, talking about the days after Chemo began.

During Pam's Chemo, she not only raised her kids, but she also taught them... just as she had for the previous ten years. The Patrick family's kitchen is their home school classroom. But, a lesson you won't find in any textbook is how to help shave your mom's head.

"I got to get scissors and just cut it, and then my dad got to shave it off," says Marisa. "Not fun for her, but I was like okay, I need to get the camera, and I was taking pictures."

No matter how bad Pam felt, her kids say she never stopped being a mom, and she never gave up. For that she's not just a survivor, but a true inspiration to her family and her friends.

Pam will join thousands of other breast cancer survivors from Mobile and Baldwin Counties at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. The Walk is Saturday, October 25th at Cooper Riverside Park in Downtown Mobile. Registration begins at 7am and the walk starts at 8am.

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