Editor’s note: This letter was received before the fundraising Cancer Freeeze in Florala.

In the last two weeks I have been called sweet, brave, crazy as a betsy bug and everything in between, all because of my decision to give up my hair if a goal of $3,000 was raised for Cancer Freeze.

I find it interesting how strongly folks feel about hair or the lack thereof. But hair does not define who you are and what makes you … you. I choose to give up my hair, but Cooper, Ayla and Michael did NOT choose to have cancer, they did not choose to have their lives and the lives of those they loved turned upside down. They did not choose to go through the pain, the fear, the sorrow and the uncertainty. But these wonderful people choose to face it with dignity, hope and courage.

What role models these people are! Look in their faces and you will know the true meaning of bravery. I saw this bravery in my mama’s face, as she battled a very aggressive form of breast cancer. Quiet determination and a will that was stronger than that which sought to destroy her. My mama died in 2009 but not from cancer..NOT from cancer! She won that fight and on the day she had been cancer free for five years, I took her a large bouquet of flowers, handed them to her and she said only one thing…with that same look of determination and a smile, “Well, I am still here.”

I wish the three people that Cancer Freeze is working to help, could have met my mama. I will make this confession though, between you, me and the gatepost. I look nothing, absolutely nothing like my Mama…except for my hair. My hair is the same silvery white as hers. I have received many compliments on it, but the most treasured were the ones that said, “Your hair looks just like your mama’s.” So, I will let them shave off my only resemblance to her, to honor her memory and to help folks that she would have loved to have met, talked with and given a hug. So bring on Saturday…I am ready.

 

Marsha Gomillion Phillips

Lockhart