I want to share a portion of an email I received the other day. As a preface to understanding the email, a family- a wife, husband, and four children ranging in age from 8-19- in our ward at Church has shown incredible strength, optimism, and faith as they have gone through a bout with cancer the last 10 months. The mom was diagnosed last year and the whole family was an inspiration as they jumped on board and gave their all to do anything and everything they could to fight. She has been very generous in sharing her trial and journey with others. She has requested help through prayers and has paid us back with periodic updates on her small conquers and how her family has dealt with and grown through this experience. The ultimate reward was when she told us she was declared cancer free either in December or January.

Unfortunately, the last email she sent revealed the shock and devastation that cancer is back. The following part is her words:

"I haven't revealed to many of you how grave my condition was/is because I was focusing on the hope that the initial treatment would miraculously do the trick. I will just let you know now that those who have experienced my particular cancer before, at least those who been documented, simply do not survive very long. I have faith that I was healed the first time and have faith that it can happen again...I just might have to work much harder for it. I ask you, no beg you, to remember me in your prayers, as well as Tom, Dax, McKane, Kieran and Asher as we face this frightening, daunting experience together. I want to be around to raise my beautiful kids and I need your faith, your support to help me do it. I will perhaps be bolder in my requests going forward, as there is no longer any time to quietly or silently push my way through this. I never truly felt as if I was "battling" cancer before since I remained free of it throughout my entire treatment. I feel much differently now that I know many little nodes of mutated cells have taken up residence in my gut and are intent on my destruction.I love you all and as always am grateful for your love, prayers, fasts, and words of encouragement. Please keep them coming and please feel free to share this request with others who might be willing to pray on our behalf."

I read the email and immediately felt crushed and my heart went out to her and her family. While I could only sympathize with most of her words, there was one sentence that I could relate to on the most personal, intimate level. And that is where she says, "I want to be around to raise my beautiful kids." And I understand and feel the desperation in that statement as I think this is something ALL mothers share in common. It cut straight to my heart the threat of that being taken away from her. I think we've all been in the situation where we want to do something to help, but don't really know how. If there were anything I could do to grant her this wish, it would take less than a heart beat for me to do it. In this case, she wants and needs prayers and if all I can do is help spread the word, that's what I'll do. So please keep the Andrus family in your prayers. She believes that will make the biggest difference so I will go off of her faith as I pass this request on.

For more on this family, visit http://www.sixintheworld.com/.

sorry about the formatting, i have no idea what's going on. Hope you still grasp the message!