My story: God was her guide through the battle

Becky Vardaman could hop on her horse Doc’s Little Joe any time and forget the cancer inside her breast. “(Riding) was still a normal part of my life,” she says as she tugs at the reigns of the tall, slender brown horse.And while her horses offered a way to forget about the disease she’d been diagnosed with in October 2008, her love of God was what helped her overcome it, she says.“The first thing we did was put it all in the hands of God,” Vardaman says.The Hinton woman and her husband, Everette, also found support from friends and family. With all this support, however, what happened next surprised even the Vardamans.One day, in an attempt to keep her network up to date on her treatment and battle with cancer, Vardaman sent an e-mail to those closest to her. The inspirational message was passed on from one friend to another. Soon, many were writing back, telling Vardaman how her positive messages had inspired them.“I always wanted my e-mails to be uplifting. And I have people that tell me still today that they kept all my e-mails.”Vardaman looks back now, more than a year after her final treatment in February 2010, and knows that the positive feedback, countless prayers and the caring staff at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center helped her beat cancer.“Our experience with them was one of total compassion, total caring, very experienced people. The staff made you feel so comfortable,” she says.While Vardaman still visits the cancer center for follow-up tests, she now spends a lot more time with her horses. “I’m a farm girl at heart,” she says as she looks up at the restless horse and smiles. “He kept my life grounded.”