This post is about spreading hope, in more ways than one. MomToBeDepot spoke with Jennifer Varner, a mom, entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor. We are honored to share her story of survival and one of spreading hope by helping a breast cancer survivor launch their own Internet/e-Commerce Business as part of a Sweepstakes -
"Survive & Thrive eCommerce Business Giveaway."
Jen is the founder of
Pure-eCommerce.com. Starting tomorrow (September 29, 2012), her
2012 sweepstakesbegins. The sweepstakes ends on October 31st and a winner will be announced on November 1st!
So what's the story?
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Jen is providing other breast cancer survivors the opportunity to win their own turnkey internet business. As a 3-year breast cancer survivor, she "hopes to show others fighting this disease that life does go on after cancer and great things can be in store for them."
What if you're not a breast cancer survivor? Please spread the word to your Facebook friends and family network.
Now for Jen's inspirational story of hope and triumph:
Jen's husband was diagnosed with colon cancer just three weeks after they were married. They were told he had a slim chance of living and they would never have children. Miraculously, while he was undergoing treatment, Jen became pregnant. They beat the cancer and they welcomed their first child.
Three years ago, they were celebrating the 10th year of being free of cancer and Jen discovered she had invasive breast cancer. At that time, she was 3 months pregnant with another child. You can imagine the flood of emotions and feelings of pure distraught coming over her. She was creating life while at the same time had to fight to save her own life.
It's never easy to hear the words "you have breast cancer."
The TV show "Parenthood" revealed a storyline this week about Monica Potter's character, Kristina, learning she had breast cancer.
You can watch the clip here. I applaud the writer's efforts to handle this delicate situation with such realism. Monica Potter superbly represents the emotional roller coaster ride the diagnosis does to someone when they first hear it.
Jen told us that the moment you hear the words, is the hardest moment of the entire process. "You do go through the stages of grief as if you lost someone you loved. Part of you dies when you hear the words. Part of you changes and will never be the same every again. Anger. Shock. Disbelief. Denial. You go through it all."
"Suddenly you realize everyone around you wants to give advice and you can't really take it all in due to the shock and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Initially the doctor told me that the lump was nothing to worry about. Then they did a biopsy and learned it was cancer. It became devastating because I was pregnant. I had to decide what to do - keep the baby or terminate?" Jen decided to continue with the pregnancy, have a mastectomy and undergo chemotherapy. After she gave birth, she had more chemo and then radiation treatments. This woman is a trooper - and a machine!
Jen and her son Killian
When I asked her how she could possibly balance staying positive for the baby she was growing inside her and dealing with the unbelievable circumstances of being treated for breast cancer at the same time, she had this to say: "There is no way to balance creating a life while fighting for your own. Luckily fight or flight syndrome kicks in. I began to fight. I wanted to give birth and to see him grow so it was definitely hard. When I was first diagnosed, they thought I would have two years to live. When all the tests came back they discovered it did not spread as they had suspected, and I knew I had a chance to fight and not give up. I fought really hard via exercise and ultra nutrition. I maintained extreme health yet emotionally I was a mess."
I asked her about her regimen, which included juicing, wheat grass shots and only having greens that did not have sugar/carbs. She gave up bread, meat and dairy products completely. Jen lost 40 pounds after she gave birth. She also began an extreme fitness program that changed her body and she never felt better. Now she runs 20 miles per week, continues extreme fitness 2 hours per day, 6 days per week. Proper nutrition and exercise are the medicines she believes in.
Jen likes to change up her exercise routine. Now that she lives in Maui, she paddles, surfs, jogs, takes various fitness classes, etc. It's her antidepressant and it's giving her life back. (Jen says it's better than taking Xanax!)
During our interview we talked about whether she informed her children about what was going on. She said they were 5, 7 and 8 at the time and they didn't want to provide full detail so they just gave them the information the kids needed to hear. They talked alot. Jen's advice for sharing a diagnosis with your kids is to take into account your child's age. Determine what you are willing to share. Don't make them afraid. They may not be able to voice that to you. Ask them what they want to know. Share only what you are comfortable sharing. Jen revealed she really didn't want to give her kids too much information because "Cancer robbed so much from me, I didn't want it to rob their childhood." Well said Jen!
So why the Internet Business Giveaway to a breast cancer survivor? Jen wanted to do something different. "Give someone the opportunity to look forward to something, start something new that's exciting and different. The business is turnkey so it's easy to run, on their own time from anywhere in the world. All products are drop shipped so there is no inventory."
As our interview came to a conclusion, we asked Jen what additional advice she had for others who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer or who are undergoing treatment right now. Here's what she said:
"It is so important to bombard yourself with survivor stories!! Long term survivors. Tell everyone around you - you don't want to hear about people that died. You don't want to focus on that. Let them know you only want to hear positive comments. Surround yourself with positive people and stories."
"Also, make goals for after treatment. This is key! I started extreme exercise while doing radiation. People were shocked. But it was my goal. I planned my life after cancer. To believe and to know there is a life after cancer is important. Set the goals. Work towards them NOW. Don't be a victim to cancer. You are not cancer. It is or will be removed from your body. It is or will be gone. Treatment is only to be sure it doesn't come back. Move forward to your goals and push yourself to achieve them. If you're in pain during treatment, set smaller goals like a 20 minute walk. Do something. Achieve something. That's what did it for me."
Jen lives in Maui with her husband and 4 children.
