AF: At the age of 44 I
didn’t know anybody
living with cancer. My
grandfather had died of
pancreatic when I was a
kid. It was nerve racking.
I was suffering at that time
from multiple chemical
sensitivity and my entire
life was dominated by
being ill. Anytime I smelled
fragrance that people might
wear on their hair, their
neck, wet paint, window
cleaning, house cleaning,
new carpet, fake wood
furniture, I was sick all the
time. I would spend 3 or 4
days in bed with my organic
sheets over my head.
Breast cancer, as a lot of
people know, you don’t
really feel sick so I didn’t
feel sick. I was sick from the
chemical sensitivity and that
is what really lead me to
decide not to take conventional treatment. I couldn’t
consider doing chemotherapy when anything
made me ill, anything out
of the norm. Aspirin would
cause me a problem; I was
passing out from things. It
wasn’t just for me.