Voices of Hope: Music soothes Aurora cancer survivor Bette Weaver

“It's always something.” That's the Gilda Radner quote my daughter, Michelle, used when she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor at the age of 15.

Having already faced numerous health issues at a young age, Michelle faced this life-threatening hurdle with strength and courage. She just wanted to be well enough to audition for the chorus of “Annie,” which she did two weeks after her brain surgery. The sun did come out tomorrow. That was 25 years ago.

That experience with my daughter helped me face my own cancer 10 years ago. Each day as my husband accompanied me to my breast cancer radiation treatments, I recalled making the same daily trip with Michelle years earlier. There were no teenagers in the waiting area for her to bond with. For me, there were “sisters” — each of us in different stages of treatment — some more knowing than others as to what was ahead.

Each day as I lay on the radiation bed with my left arm stretched back awaiting the deadly but lifesaving beams of radiation to my breast, I kept repeating the song refrain, “Be still my love, and know that I am God,” over and over until the radiation tech instructed me to put my arm back into the sleeve of my robe. And the Lord kept my body and my mind still.

Last June, on a trip to the San Antonio Riverwalk, my husband, Ray, and I were comforted by the sounds of Andean Fusion and their beautiful panpipes. It was this music that soothed my husband's body as he recovered from colon cancer surgery later that month.

Now, one year later, I reflect on my family's life and look forward to the Voices of Hope concert. I'm a cancer survivor, and wife and mom to cancer survivors. I'm also a Cancer Registrar Nurse who prays daily for the health of all those facing health care struggles.

Music, the support of family and friends, and faith in God that He will give you the strength whatever the outcome — Voices of Hope.

How can I keep from singing?