My name is Renee Mandarano and when I was 31 years old I was told I had breast cancer.
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I am two-time cancer survivor but it does not define who I am. At 31 years old I was told I had breast cancer. Barely married for 3 years and living in Boston, MA. Life began for me at that time. I went on to have a mastectomy with no reconstruction followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. I never really gave my "life" much thought until then. It was such a grown up time for me. For a while after treatment ended I was lost. I wanted to make changes in my life. Big changes. I wanted a career and since my paying job did not fulfill my soul but rather paid our bills, I didn’t want to throw myself into my work, The answer came to me about a year after my treatment ended. I became a mother.
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Hope was born about a week shy of my year anniversary of treatment ending. I figured this was my new career. Unfortunately, living in Boston, MA while my husband was finishing his PhD at MIT I was obligated to continue to keep my full time job. But I grabbed every free moment to be a family. Two years later I heard those frightening words again, "You have cancer Renee." This time we had moved to Los Angeles, CA, due to my husband’s first job out of his degree. Once again my life made a huge detour to fighting cancer again. It was even more difficult the second time. You’d think it would be easier since I had been through it before. I knew what the surgery entailed and the side affects of treatment. The two biggest differences this time - my support network were 2,000 miles away and a 2 years old daughter who needed me 24/7. And the treatment this time took its toll on my body, my mind and invaded my soul. My marriage could not withstand the stress and it ended shortly after treatment. Hope and I moved back East and lived with family for a while. My life truly made turns that I had not expected. Being a single mom was even more difficult then chemo treatments! After settling into my own home, the marriage strife behind me I opened my own business. I started You're Entitled, Inc. to help others keep an eye on their emotional wellness during a cancer diagnosis. Let the doctors take care of your body and let You’re Entitled, Inc help you take care of you. It was born on a concept. During my ordeal there was no one taking care of “me”. There is no medicine to take to rejuvenate my energy. Or to regain my inner strength that had been tested and depleted. I’ve always been an optimistic upbeat person, but now it was a challenge just to laugh. You’re Entitled provides resources and products to help an individual reconnect with who they are. To take this time of diagnosis and use it to your benefit to learn about what makes you happy and what you simply can live without! The body has a tremendous survival ability to restore and regenerate itself, but the mind needs guidance, encouragement and nurturing. One must learn how to heal emotionally.
Testimonial:
Rosemary bought a cancer gift of treatment treasures for her sister who was battling cancer and below is a portion of the thank you card she received from her sister in Colorado.
"I wanted to thank you for the wonderful package. What a surprise. It was such fun opening it--it was a big box filled with a whole bunch of individually wrapped things. What a wonderful treat it all was. There were things to help me through the chemo, and then things for when I finish chemo and can celebrate! "
Renee, her letter just continued with saying that I seemed to be one of the only ones who understood how hard the treatment is. Now, I really can't say that I do understand, but you certainly do, and your package just made things so much easier for my sister.
Thank you again for such a wonderful and thoughtful item. Thank you so very much for the wonderful package for my sister.
Rosemary Stedman
You're Entitled, Inc Mission Statement:
To provide individuals the products and resources to maintain and build emotional comfort and wellness during adverse times.
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