Preserving Memories - Part 2 - Cancer

By Brenda Austin

In February of 2001, I was given the devasting news that I had breast cancer.  For the next 11 months a day didn’t go by that I was either poked, prodded, injected, operated on, in pain, sick, scared, or a combination thereof.  Through this journey I kept record of medical visits, surgeries, procedures, treatments, medication, outcomes, and who was involved in my healing process.  I knew I needed to retain this information as a general medical reference but by the end of it all, I felt a plain manilla file folder was just too clinical to store this event that impacted my life so thoroughly.  Utilizing a very pretty floral scrapbook found at the local Hallmark store, I started filling the pages with the mementoes of my medical journey.  Looking through that book today, I feel some of the scary emotions return.  But then as I get toward the end, I review the final reports that show my cancer is gone and then I see several pages containing the cards I received from friends and family.  One card in particular stands out as it is from my 5-year-old daughter’s kindergarten class who all signed it.  This book contains a record of all those who stood by me, cared for me, and cheered for me and as such, it is a cherished preserved memory of a journey I survived and grew from.

As I look through the book again I realize the pages are yellowing slightly and the "magnetic" sheets are not staying together. This all brings up an important reminder to everyone if you have pictures saved in these types of books, get them out and into an acid free and photo safe album. Even though the sheets I used were supposed to be photo safe, these older "magnetic" type pages can harm your photos and memorabilia. Paper & Cloth Memories can help you safely preserve your memories. Just give us a call or stop by!