Lady of Hope: A Journey of Faith With Breast Cancer

by Ellen Washburn Gragg

Retired after thirty-four years of teaching high school science, Ellen Washburn Gragg was enjoying her close-knit family and church community, traveling the world, quilting ... Life was good. Although she had no family history of breast cancer, no risk factors, and no warning, in 2006 she discovered her breast lump while traveling with the Friendship Force program in Japan, where the futon on which she and her husband slept made the lump more obvious-and probably saved her life. She is now cancer-free. Ellen survived breast cancer by depending on both science and faith. As a scientist, she did extensive research, educating herself about the physiological process of treating her disease. As a Christian, she stepped into the embrace of her faith, her family, and her loving friends to sustain and nurture herself as she healed. By bringing both these arteries into the heart of her challenge, she was able to proceed confidently and wisely on her path to becoming cancer-free. In Lady of Hope, Ellen makes the science accessible and her faith inspirational. She shares not only her personal journey but specific information and coping strategies, from eating gingersnaps to relieve nausea to the Bible verses that have given her comfort and peace. Ellen's message keeps echoing through the be faithful and be informed. Cancer patients and caregivers will discover how to empower themselves mentally and spiritually, and learn why, at the end of her treatments, Ellen still says, "Life is good!"

152 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2011