A 38-year-old single mother, Stacey Miller was busy caring for her son and earning a living making deliveries for Walmart when a bolt came into her life: a diagnosis of Stage 2 breast cancer.
Everything changed quickly. What started as an initial treatment plan of radiation and a lumpectomy morphed into 16 chemotherapy treatments, including four weeks of what Stacey called the “red devil.”
A fiercely independent woman, Stacey took herself to all of her appointments, even though they were 90 minutes away. Then her mom, Valerie Fields, a nurse, began joining her. Still, Stacey sometimes drives one way to help out.
Even while living with cancer, Stacey often puts others’ needs ahead of her own. The head covering she wears makes her head hot, but Stacey leaves it on because her mother and daughter are not ready to see her newly bald head.
Despite the difficulties, there is still good news. The same day as her cancer diagnosis, her grandson was born.
And Stacey and her family still find time for fun.
During an early celebration of her mom’s birthday, the family watched the Kentucky vs. Purdue basketball game.
“What else can you do, because such is life,” she said, “We’ve always been a family that likes to laugh and make light of everything.”
