Contributor Spotlight: Theresa Wiza

I don't usually do this; highlight a contributor that is.  I mean, occasionally I'll share a link to something relevant to writing for Y!CN but I don't often spotlight contributors.  Maybe it's something I need to do more of, I don't know.  What I do know is that I want to share this one.

Theresa Wiza  (right) has been a contributor for over two and a half years now.  In September of 2009, she learned she had breast cancer.  She is still battling it and will be for a long time.  In the meantime, she has provided her readers and friends a journal on Associated Content that details her experiences with the disease.

An excerpt from Diagnosis: Breast Cancer - Part 1- 

"We [a dear friend and I] talked about how I could now use breast cancer to excuse myself from having to do anything I didn't want to do:

Sorry, can't mop up that mess. I have breast cancer. Sorry, didn't hear you - my breast cancer is acting up. Sorry, officer, I was in a rush to beat my breast cancer. And on and on.

From that point we went off on a tangent to discuss how my grandchildren could use the breast cancer excuse too. Sorry, couldn't make it to class today - my grandma has breast cancer.

Am I delirious? Possibly."

I came across these in part because I remembered someone saying that Theresa had breast cancer.  My next fiction piece centers on a woman with breast cancer.  Since I didn't know anyone close to me with the disease, I asked Theresa if she would mind helping me in my research.  She continues to answer questions that pop up as I write the story.

I admit that I didn't realize what I was getting into when I first came up with the story idea.  I knew very little about breast cancer, treatments, or the toll it takes on those afflicted.  But it's the best part of being a fiction writer; researching and seeing an entirely different side to life. Even when the topic is an unpleasant one, the knowledge that comes with researching the personal side of things is often eye opening and emotional.  And it's thought provoking in a way that helps you understand the world around you and appreciate people and their struggles more.

If you'd like to read Theresa's breast cancer journal, the links are below.  It's a bit long but well worth the read.

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Here are some other links where you can find her:

Theresa's Yahoo! Contributor Profile
Weird Dreams
Your Blog Connection
Help for Single Parents
My Heart Belongs to You
Writer of Blogs


You can find my fiction site at www.PamelaCaves.com