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Hello and welcome to
"A Conversation with.."

I'm your host, Kelly Cruise and
today we have an extraordinary

woman with us that
we'll be talking to.

She has an illustrious career
and a very demanding career

on her resume.

But what her biggest
battle has been is a fight

with breast cancer.

She's a ten
year survivor.

Welcome to our
show, Patricia Brown.

Thank you, Kelly.

Thank you for
joining us today.

I'm thrilled.

You are amazing, first of all.

You do not look like
you're battling cancer.

That's what a good make
up job will do for you.

Thank you though.

No, I've never felt bad
  and I've never looked ugly.

But what goes on inside my
body is not a pretty picture.

You've been
battling it since 2005.

Is that right?

That's correct, May 10.

Let's talk about your history
before the battle started.

You have a very long career as
the president and C-E-O of the

Make-A-Wish Foundation
here in the Mid-South.

Tell me a little bit about
that and all your experiences

granting wishes to children who
had very bad illnesses and most

often were
facing death.

Yes.

Make-A-Wish Foundation is an
organization that brings hopes,

strength and joy
in to families lives.

And for 12 years, I was honored
  to serve as their president

and C-E-O.

And I was able to be a part of
  over 2000 wishes fulfilled and

about $25 million raised.

It's not an easy task to go in
to a person's home where there

is a child that is facing a
  life-threatening illness.

It's a family in crisis.

And you learn a lot
  about that, and the culture,

and the
  spirituality of families.

And it became an opportunity for
me to learn not only for myself

but for other people of how
to cope and deal with tragedy

and scary situations.

It was the most fulfilling job
ever to be able to look at a

child that was sad and see that
magic come in to the mix and

they were glad.

And the parents were
always so grateful.

It truly was a privilege.

And then it
became a passion.

And then it became a
fulltime, lifetime,

twenty-four seven job.

And for 12 years, I totally
  enjoyed it and was happy to be a

part of such an
incredible organization.

And I know through working with
Make-A-Wish with you that you

got very close to
some of the patients.

Tell me about one or
two of those situations.

Well, we met in a
wish for a little girl

named
  Jennifer Singler.

And Jennifer really still
  lives with me in my heart.

The ability for a child that was
  12 turning 13 to have an impact

on people, I learned right
then it wasn't about how long

you had lived.

It was what you did with your
life while you were on Earth.

And that child was able to have
more effect on people than some

people that
lived to be 80.

It was startling.

And she had such a zest for life
and to the point that she came

in my office frequently and
made her own business cards.

And when I'd leave town, she'd
leave me notes that she needed

to be left in charge.

And then one day, she came in
and she was pulling all the hair

off of her head.

And I knew what
her prognosis was.

She I don't think
really ever understood that.

Kids don't
understand life.

So, they don't
really get death.

But the adults do.

So, as I watched her pull
her hair out of her scalp,

I was like, "Jennifer, go
home and get that stuff

"off your head.

You're making a
mess in my office."

She came back the
next day and she said,

"Now who am I?"

And she had a wig on, much
like the one I have right now,

and red finger nails.

And I looked at
her and I said,

"I don't know,
Jennifer Singler?"

And she said,
"No, I'm you.

I want to be you
when I grow up."

That's when I knew
my job mattered.

It mattered a lot.

Everything I said and
did impacted these kids,

and the staff,
and the volunteers.

And I'm not a perfect person but
I took it a lot more seriously

after Jennifer
Singler came and went.

And it wasn't a good day when
we all attended her funeral.

But I was at peace knowing that
Jennifer left the earth in a

better place
because of her life.

I want to read an
excerpt from your manuscript.

You're actually hoping to get a
  book published in the next year

or so.

This quote says, "She views
her time at the Make-A-Wish

"Foundation as God's way of
giving her on-the-life training

that prepared her to
  fight her biggest battle."

So, when you look back at
your years in Make-A-Wish,

do you really feel so much that
it really was a way to prepare

for your own
battle with cancer?

Totally, 100%.

It was like going to get a
degree in understanding how to

be your own advocate, how to
  have joy even in the bad times,

how to make fun of yourself
  when you're bald and not looking

so cute.

It did prepare me.

And, of course, I learned
  a lot about the terminology

and the different diseases.

Childhood cancer is so much of
what I learned was through my

time with these families hearing
their story over and over

and again.

It would give me
new information.

So, when I had the opportunity
to champion my own battle,

I turned myself in to my own
  project and I became a granter

of wishes for
  myself and other people.

And I had a lot
  of humor with it.

I was able to
  powerfully, with confidence,

become my
own advocate.

Because I understood if I didn't
speak up and I didn't learn and

I didn't invest in myself,
then my odds were not going

to be good.

It's extraordinary
because you really talk about,

in your manuscript..

Let me just..

You said,
actually, then it hit you.

You cried and weeped for
hours after you were told

you had cancer.

And then remembered "The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People," habit two --
begin with the end in mind.

That was a
hard reality to take.

It is.

But again, through Make-A-Wish,
I learned we're all terminal.

And there is no way to know
whether it's going to happen

when you're two years
old, or when you're 20,

or when
you're 80, or 60.

You don't know.

So, begin with
the end in mind.

And what I wanted to
accomplish with my life,

I needed to make sure that I
stayed true to my own goals and

wishes and
pledged ahead.

And I did.

You really did.

I did.

I mean, I don't think a lot of
people know that as soon as you

had your mastectomy, then
you had a staph infection after

that, which had
to be excruciating.

It was the worst.

Let's talk about
that a second now.

This is very rare that something
like this would happen.

I mean, you had your
breasts removed basically,

had all this surgery.

You were starting reconstructive
surgery, correct?

(Patricia)
  True.

And then you find a staph
infection in that location.

(Patricia)
  Right.

What was that like?

Well, it was confusing at first
because no one seemed to know

what was going on.

I just had a high fever
I couldn't get rid of.

There was no signs.

The blood work
didn't demonstrate

any kind of infection.

So, it was confusing.

And after about a week
of running 103 fever,

and then I had symptoms, which
was my reconstructed breast was

starting to
bruise and ooze pus.

It was like, okay,
there's a bigger problem here.

And thanks to friends,
you being one of them,

we got me in the hospital
and that was a week's stay.

And two surgeries of debriding
the area to the point my fist

could almost fit
in my chest wall.

They did not think
the wound would heal.

And I went,
oh yes it is.

Because I got the power
of the Holy Ghost in me.

And I went on a prayer
  campaign with friends and family

across the country.

And it was wonderful.

After 30 days, seeing a
  wound specialist in my bedroom,

because they had to
debride it every other day,

look at me, because he was the
guy who said it may never heal,

and said, "I've
witnessed a miracle.

I have never seen this in
my 25 years of wound care."

And I said,
I told ya!

And so, that was my
approach to everything was,

no, it's in
Jesus' hands.

He's the
determiner.

I'm just
a vehicle.

You know, when you say this,
a lot of times I hear you refer

to your faith.

And I've actually heard
people who have had cancer say,

shockingly, cancer has
been a blessing in my life.

And obviously
you think that.

I do think that.

I feel honored to get the
  opportunity to do the journey

of battling cancer.

It is a gift I think.

I don't like it.

I wish I
  didn't have it.

It affects my
  life and lifestyle.

It's not fun.

It's not pretty.

The drugs are -- have
  interesting side effects that

aren't very enjoyable.

That is not good.

But what is good of it is it
did increase my spirituality.

It has impacted hundreds
  of other people's lives.

Not just the people I meet in
  the chemo clinics but I get

written to by lots of people
  that say I made a difference

in their life.

And it's not me.

It's my battle.

It's how
  I championed it.

And it's
to glorify God.

Because without that strength
and that core belief that he has

a plan and
a purpose.

He had the end in mind for me
when I was born that then this

would just
be a sickness.

It's not.

It's an
opportunity.

And I do seize it and have fun
with it and make fun of myself.

And if I die
today, I'm all good.

Well, I don't think you're
going to be dying anytime soon.

I mean, really,
actually, recently,

I mean, it's been recent that
you got the word flying from

M-D Anderson on a
recent check-up that,

you know, you were
doing so much better.

And then you find in your
paperwork flying back to

Northwest Arkansas something
about your brain in this

paperwork that
nobody caught.

And so,
tell me about that.

That's why you have to be your
own advocate and get copies of

all your clinical information
so that you read it

and understand it.

Yeah, it's kind of shocking
to be on a plane and it says

there's edema in the brain from
the pet scan they discovered.

And I'm like,
"Edema in the brain?"

And seizures are possible.

And they recommended
I have a brain M-R-I.

And nothing
had been said.

So, you know,
you get off the plane,

you make
a phone call.

Of course they're
not in the office.

And it was
a couple of days.

By the time I got the word,
I had already scheduled

my own
brain M-R-I.

And yes, went in and here we're
conquering the reoccurrence Mets

in my body.

And then, all of a
sudden, it's in my brain?

Well, that's the goal of cancer
-- to get in your brain

and kill you.

So, I was scared
but it was like,

okay, we just got to
figure out what to do.

So..

I did 15 rounds
  of brain radiation.

Took my hair, made me
  kind of half way crazy,

and silly,
and goofy, and ditzy.

And they wouldn't let
me drive for two months.

So, be alone, be in your
home, can't drive, can't work.

I said I got
to find a purpose.

Change of
life experience.

So, I started finding different
  non-profits that I could do some

philanthropy with and
  strategic planning.

And I could
  do that from home.

I cannot not
  have a purpose.

(Kelly)
  Energizer Bunny.

And kind of goofy Energizer
Bunny at times but always fun

and with a
good end result.

And thankfully,
I'm good.

But in May when they told me
I might have months to live,

it was time to
plan my funeral.

You know,
I'm an event planner.

I wasn't going to
have a boring funeral.

I had to
get with it.

You know,
get on the stick.

And so, I did.

I did all the pre-arrangements,
  got speakers lined up,

got musicians lined up.

And if I was only going
  to live a few months,

I was going to go
  out with a bang.

But obviously
you passed that.

And didn't they call
you a miracle again?

I've had numerous front
row seats to miracles.

So, today, how are
those brain tumors?

They're almost gone.

The tumors that were in my lungs
and the spots on my bones they

believe are
totally inactive now.

And then the spots in my brain
are almost all gone except for

just a few.

And they've all diminished over
half the size in the course of

this last six months.

How does this
make you feel?

Blessed,
very blessed.

And happy,
and joyous.

And it gives me the energy and
the attitude to continue to tell

the story.

I want people to understand
there is more to life

than death.

That's a given.

But what are you
doing every single day?

Seize the day.

(Kelly)
  You do seize the day.

I want to hear.

Go back about your career
because this woman's career

looks like a lifetime of
somebody maybe 100 years old.

(Patricia)
  I feel like it sometimes.

But you started out being a
dental hygienist years ago.

And then you worked at
Porter-Leath Children's Home.

Then you went
to Make-A-Wish.

There for 12 years?

Yeah, 12 years.

Started the John Daly
Make-A-Wish golf tournament.

That is amazing.

And then even after you
had the breast cancer,

you actually toured?

I had it but I
didn't know I had it.

But I was touring with him and
working exclusively for John

with his
  charitable foundation.

It's kind of hard to be in a
  different city every week and

then, also fight breast cancer
  and be in the chemo clinic.

So, we discontinued the
professional relationship.

We're still
good friends.

And then later on, when I went
to work for the nationwide tour,

the P-G-A tour event
in Fort Smith, Arknasas

as their
tournament director,

I recruited John to come
back and work with me again.

This time, I'm the
director and he's just a golfer.

Let's talk about that because
really you are the only female

to ever have that
position in the nation, correct?

Right, female
tournament director.

I did not realize when I got
the position that was the case.

I went to their
annual meeting.

And I'm like,
where's the other girls.

They said,
no, you're it.

You're the only one that's ever
been hired out of a pool of men

to be the female
tournament director.

My predecessor
was a female.

But she had
promoted in to the job.

But I'm like, what?

And then the different ladies
that were support staff for the

guys, they were
coming up to me.

You broke through the ceiling
and maybe we'll have a chance.

And I was like, wow.

I mean, it wasn't like
something I set out to do.

I just needed a job in
Arkansas and I was qualified.

Were these people
knowing of your breast cancer?

No.

(Kelly)
  Did they ever find out?

Oh, yeah.

Because I started a new program
called Pink on the Links.

It was the only dedicated today
  in the P-G-A Tour history back,

I mean,
  a few years ago.

They all came out and supported
  breast cancer awareness by

wearing pink
  during tournament play.

That was
  the big thing.

And it was recognized by
  the national tour as one

of the best practices.

And in the next year, I was able
  to go on stage after being asked

what qualified me to be a
  tournament director and

explained to them,
  here's why.

Branding, marketing,
fundraising and I'm creative.

I came up with
Pink on the Links.

What 'chu got?

(Kelly)
  Wow.

Again, you know, your manuscript
that you're writing and hope to

published soon in to a book,
you talk about at one point,

you know, when you
got your head shaved,

that you looked in the mirror
in the morning and realized,

"I am my dad."

(Patricia)
  Yes.

(Kelly)
  It's extraordinary when you
  look at this picture and finally

figure out, "I really
  do look like my father."

(Patricia)
  Right.

It's another blessing.

You know, I wouldn't
have ever known that

if I didn't have hair.

I was brushing my
teeth and I went,

I'm George Redden.

Oh my gosh.

And I went out and
asked my brother.

I was like,
"Who do I look like?"

And he went,
"Dad but I won't tell."

Because he's bald, you know.

Almost bald, you know.

And I'm like, oh my!

And then I went and lived with
my parents for six weeks while I

did radiation
  therapy back in 2005.

And I learned we
  like the same food.

We like the
  same T-V shows.

It was,
  again, a blessing.

I would have never gone as an
  adult to live with my parents

for six weeks.

And I would have not known
how much I'm like my family.

A blessing.

You talk, also, about the
devastation of losing your hair.

But you've actually
had fun with that.

Talk about how you're
the Energizer Bunny.

Let's talk about some
of those experiences,

the henna crown.

(Patricia)
  Well, okay.

When everybody sees
you with a bald head,

they look at
you so pitiful.

And I'm like, you know, I don't
want them to feel bad and I

don't want
to feel bad.

And it's awkward.

So, I went and had
my head tattooed.

Not permanent, with henna.

And it was
a henna crown.

And therefore,
  people look at me differently

and they
react differently.

And I chanced it.

I was at a concert
and I had a hat on.

And I decided I was going to
pull this hat off right here and

now and see
what happens.

And it was like I was the most
popular person walking out of

the ladies room.

That is so cool!

That is wonderful!

And from then on,
I realized, okay,

let's do things with this and
make people laugh or smile or be

amazed and not pitiful
because I don't have any hair

and I'm probably sick.

And I am sick.

I mean,
technically.

I have a disease
but don't pity me.

I mean, yeah, if you want
to bring me a casserole,

I'm all about it.

But don't feel
sorry for me.

I'm happy.

On your blog, you do a blog
regularly with the City Wire.

And also, you have a Facebook
page that you blog on regularly.

And you have people from all
over the world following you and

getting news from you and
learning more about how to deal

with cancer, how to
have humor during cancer.

You said you even
have people from,

like, South Africa
contacting you.

I have a great lady that
I've never met, of course.

She's not been here
and I've not been there.

But we chat sometimes at
3:00 a-m when I can't sleep.

And it's amazing.

I feel like
I know her.

I feel like I know a
lot of these people.

You hang up a telephone call
  from someone that responds to a

blog and right
  before you hang up,

the lady is in
  Pennsylvania and she says,

"For the first
  time, I have hope."

See,
it's a blessing.

And it's
an opportunity.

And it's
a calling.

I'm Helpy
Helperson and I'm a fixer.

And I want to share everything I
have learned and be helpful and

an encourager to people.

I don't care if it's cancer
or some other disease

or a family problem.

There is
always hope.

And you just can't let
Satan steal your joy.

Well, I remember you telling
me one time you were getting

a little bored.

You were how many years
in to your remission?

I think five years,
seven years.

Seven years in remission and you
actually remember praying and

saying, "God, I'm
getting a little bored.

Give me a project."

And then tell me what happened
almost immediately thereafter.

Well, right then
I was afraid.

I went, oh my gosh, he's going
to let me go through this again.

And sure enough.

I mean, I knew when I got the
phone call after my routine

bloodwork that it appeared tumor
markers were telling them that

the cancer might
have come back.

And generally when
you have breast cancer,

it doesn't come
back in your breasts.

Your breasts are gone.

It comes back
somewhere else.

And in my case, it was my hip,
my right hip and my lymph nodes

in my lung.

And a lot of people don't know
that breast cancer does not ever

become
another cancer.

It's just that the breast cancer
has morphed a little bit and

gone in to these
other organs and,

of course,
eventually in to your brain.

Yes.

When it gets in to
your lymph nodes..

So, cells circulate
through your system.

That's why you di chemotherapy
is to treat the full body and

try to kill all
those cells off.

And we were very
successful in 2005.

And there was no
evidence of disease.

And then seven
years later, there was.

Well, here you are
looking the picture of health.

And you've beaten the
odds so many times,

been called a
miracle so many times.

Where do you see your life going
in the next five to ten years?

Well, God obviously
has the end in mind.

And I just kind of
float along with him.

However, it seems that I've
become a requested public

speaker, which was one of my
  wishes and dreams and prayers

when I had my reoccurrence to
  be a national public speaker.

And I get to do that on a big
  stage in front of lots of people

and stomp my foot and
  tell people to work harder

and quit
  your whining.

And I just have a joyful
  time in sharing with people

as a speaker.

I also didn't really understand
that I had the talent of writing

until I started blogging.

And I've been a blogger
for two-and-a-half years.

And I am able to also blog on
other publications besides the

Citywire.com.

But that lead in to coming
off the stage one time

and being
a blogger.

A marketing group
came up to me and said,

"You need to
write a book."

Well, that was also another
prayer that I had two-and-a-half

years ago was to be a writer and
write a book and tell my story.

Because I think it's
entertaining and informative.

It's very
entertaining.

It's not boring.

I don't do
boring real well.

And it's also a tribute to a lot
of people that have helped me

through this.

I mean,
I'm one person.

I can't do this
just by myself.

And I've had
friends, and girlfriends,

and guy friends, and
family, and doctors, and nurses.

I mean, I've had a team of
people that have allowed me to

get to this point to where I can
broadcast through this show and

through my
speaking and writing.

And then I spend a lot of
  time with philanthropies.

I'm a fixer.

I'm sort of a
  non-profit doctor.

I go in.

When they have a
  problem, I diagnose them,

create a strategic plan or a
  treatment plan and then we get

to work and make the
  world a better place.

Move the needle,
make a difference.

That's my goal.

Well, with hopefully your
book being published soon,

for all the viewers out there
who are either battling cancer

or may find out near in the
future that they're going

to have cancer.

So, if you have one thing
to say to these ladies,

what would you say?

Get a mammogram.

Don't be always
satisfied with that.

Go get a
diagnostic mammogram.

And you have to
become your own advocate.

Do not put your
head in the sand.

Take care
of yourself.

Get healthy now before
you get the diagnosis.

That's one of the key things
that has created the opportunity

for the miracles to happen
is that I was healthy

to begin with.

Never ever sick.

Didn't have diabetes.

No heart problems.

So, therefore my range of
options from a treatment

standpoint is wider.

And then when you have a gut
in your feeling -- a feeling in

your gut that you --
something isn't right,

get a second opinion.

I did.

And if I hadn't, I wouldn't have
-- I would not be sitting here

right now.

(Kelly)
  That's huge.

And you also said,
I believe, in your manuscript

to see an oncologist.

Very important.

Very first thing you do after
you do your yearly mammogram is

if you do or they think -- even
think there's a possibility of

cancer, go to an
  oncologist first thing.

And let him be
  your quarterback.

He will be your friend for the
  rest of your life because just

because they have no evidence as
a disease to go in to remission,

or say you're cancer-free, those
cells were in your body at one

time and they
can come back.

I am a living
example of that.

So, your oncologist
is your best friend.

You know, you can like your
surgeon and love your plastic

surgeon, but your
oncologist is the key.

(Kelly)
  Very good words.

Patricia Brown, thank you
for being on our show tonight

with us.

You've really given an
insight in to what it's like

to have cancer.

We appreciate you so much
being on our show and sharing.

Well, you're most welcome.

My pleasure.

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