BARBARA ACKER
Survivor Since:
1992 & 2006 (diagnosed twice)
Home Town:
Lubbock
Age: 68
Occupation: Aesthetician/Owner of Avalon Day Spa
Family: Husband Kenn; Daughter ReneÈ
Hobbies: Travel, reading, spending time with friends
"Today I am Blessed and Adventurous!"
'What keeps me strong, wanting to live each day'
I have survived the breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and treatments twice! This is my story... what keeps me strong, wanting to live each day and share it with those I love most and those I have yet to meet!
In the spring of 1992, I was preparing to go on the trip of a lifetime with my husband, Kenn. We were going to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain! Our family hosted a total of 18 exchange students through the Youth For Understanding program, and we were hosting a girl from Barcelona, who we thought would be our last student. Kenn was preparing for retirement and the next phase of our lives, and I was preparing for our trip.
My breast cancer was discovered on my annual mammogram, which was actually one month early since I was leaving the country. This tumor was not palpable, but had already invaded my lymph system (5 of 22 lymph nodes were positive). My parents were still alive, thus I chose to seek treatments in the Dallas area so that I could spend some quality time with them. I also looked for doctors who would support my dream of going to the Olympics with my husband, even though I would have already started chemotherapy and lost all of my hair.
My dad was always such a caregiver when I was sick as a child, and it did not change when I was a 52-year-old adult. He told me that I would be just fine, and that God was not finished with me yet. He also told me that I would live to bury him, and I did in 2003. I prayed day and night to accept God's will, and continued to work at least 40+ hours per week during chemo. I traveled back and forth during radiation for five weeks, so I really only worked about 20 hours during this time. The one thing that kept me going was the support of my ìpatrons.î We shared laughter, prayer, and joy during their special sessions with me. It was at this time, AVALON DAY SPA was planned and became a reality in 1993.
My only daughter, Renee, has always told me that my hands are healing hands. She was a very sick child and would always ask for me to place my hands on her face so that she would feel better (miraculously, she did). As I examined my life purpose after breast cancer, I began to listen to what my clients were also saying about my healing hands and spirit. I wanted to give back to those in our community who had suffered with cancer, so I set aside funds to "pamper with a purpose."
|
