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Debbie Mancini-Wharff - Mom with Cancer


Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37 in September 2003. She blogged "We were in shock and sure they were wrong - my twins were only one then and my older child had just turned four - I couldn't have cancer, I didn't have TIME for it! I had surgery and then four rounds of chemo and they said...you are cured but I kept thinking something wasn't right - just a gut (not to mention my right leg was really hurting) well...in May of 2004, a MRI showed bone mets (in multiple bones). My journey continued at that point and I was determined more than ever to BEAT this disease. There is a quote that I read by Susan Love that I love and I live by. She said "If just one woman has beaten the odds, there is nothing in your way for you to be the second". Ok...that's not an EXACT quote but...you get the idea. I tell people all the time that I "only" have bone mets and they look at me as if I'm nuts! LOL :)"

As a strong willed and devoted mother to her three young children, Deb was determined to hold the impact of cancer as far away from her children as possible. Debbie had surgery and chemotherapy to treat her cancer while running a full-time business out of her home. Chemotherapy could be difficult and did slow her down at times. Her children learned to make their own breakfast and help Mom out a bit more.

When she learned her cancer had returned and was in her bones she blogged "I felt like I had to do something, anything to raise awareness..." She turned her scrapbooking hobby into "Crop for the Cure", a very successful cancer fundraising effort. She wrote "It also gives me an outlet to tell women to DO THEIR MONTHLY EXAM. That exam SAVED my life. I was only 37 and it took me 9 WEEKS to get a mammogram AFTER I found the lump. The doctors here told me it was caffeine and couldn't be cancer. Guess what? They were wrong."

In July 2009 after a 5 year battle, Debbie's aggressive breast cancer took her life.  Debbie has been described as an amazing woman who used grace and dignity to battle her cancer while making her family a priority. From her example, 15 to 40 year olds should know that your own health is important and needs to be balanced with the needs of your family and career. Make an appointment with your healthcare provider, benchmark your health.  Your health is a priority too.


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