Sheryl Roth was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 1980, at the age of 31. She has three grown sons and a grown dog. Now retired from her job with the post office, she is an artist and a writer. She believes that love is important in order to survive anything, and she urges every woman she meets to have her breasts examined.

“Pretty is as pretty does”, my Mother used to say,

In the dawn of my youth, I told myself...no way!

Beauty meant a perfect nose and a mane of shiny hair

With eyes of blue, atop an hourglass, and clothes reflecting flair.

That girl no longer represents the woman I’ve become,

The former me who required to lean on everyone.

Experience has shaped me, through challenges and wear,

What didn’t kill me, made me wise beyond my years.

Today, “Pretty is as pretty does” as Mother used to say,

Is now “Beauty is judged in loving deeds in appreciation of each DAY!”