Living With Cancer Anyway

It’s a story many of us have heard before: a young woman is diagnosed with ovarian cancer (or some other horrible disease), goes through surgery and chemo, gets too sick to work, loses her job, and her health insurance eventually runs out. Heart-wrenching, for sure. Especially sad when the woman has a husband and two small children. But for cancer patient Kellie Main Foret, you just can’t make any assumptions or guess what her next move will be.

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2004, Foret has undergone several rounds of chemo, surgery, and all the other treatments her doctors feel are necessary. But this isn’t a story about cancer treatments, it’s a story about how this young woman has taken her current circumstance and turned it into something life-affirming and positive.

Foret started making custom jewelry pieces last fall before Christmas in order to raise money to buy her kids Christmas presents. The surprising twist was that her work was so unique and beautiful that it started gaining attention from local galleries and boutiques throughout the Detroit metro area. Soon, she was expanding her designs and original pieces until she had created a unique collection of original art jewelry pieces, all growing from her signature piece, “Tree of Life.”

“I designed the Tree of Life piece while I was going through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer,” said Foret. “To me, this piece represents all the roads we travel and how these journeys make each of us unique.

“I have so much to be thankful for. My Tree of Life continues to grow, and I hope my work adds something to other women’s lives that reassures them that they are unique and that everyday is special.”

One of her jewelry sets, called “My Angel,” is in memory of Foret’s chemo buddy who died a few weeks ago in November. All the proceeds from sales of this jewelry go to ovarian cancer research. “I know that in honoring my friend’s life, I am also doing something positive for other women who will benefit from ongoing research and an eventual cure for ovarian cancer,” said Foret.

Because of her initial success, Foret recently decided to open up an online store to sell her jewelry over the internet. The web site, www.pulsejewelry.com, just went live on November 19, 2005, and is already receiving and shipping orders for the holidays.

Not only is she busy designing and creating her art jewelry pieces, she has also been learning how to use the technology to maintain and run her online store, update and add new products, and fulfill orders using online shipping.

“I really love what I do, and I feel like I have such an exciting life,” said Foret. “My hope is that through my work, other women will enjoy these original jewelry pieces while knowing they are raising awareness and supporting one of the most important issues facing women today – ovarian cancer.”