A Life-Changing, a Life-SAVING Read

Reading Dead Mom Walking by Rachel Marlow felt like looking into a mirror I had been avoiding. As someone battling stage 3 rectal cancer, I am facing the very surgery Rachel’s mother, Elaine, refused. Like her, I have struggled with fear—the fear of losing control, my dignity, and the life I once knew. The thought of living with a colostomy bag terrified me, and I understood the desperate need to live in denial, that it would just go away.

This book, however, forced me to confront a painful truth: Elaine’s avoidance didn’t save her and my anxiety, fear and panic over surgery will not stop it from happening. Her fear led to her avoidance of reality and cost her everything. Reading her story through Rachel’s raw, honest perspective, I found the clarity I needed. I don’t want my children to grow up without me, to go on without me, wondering if I did everything I could to stay. I don’t want surgery, I don’t want a colostomy but I want to live so surgery it will be. No more denial or avoidance.



I would die for my children in a heartbeat—but this book reminded me that the greatest act of love is choosing to live for them.

Rachel’s writing is powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming. Dead Mom Walking is more than a cautionary tale about distrusting modern medicine—it is a deeply personal, urgent reminder of what is at stake. It reached me at exactly the right moment, and I will carry its lessons with me as I move forward with my own treatment.

Highly recommended for anyone facing hard medical choices, struggling with fear, or simply needing a reminder of why we fight to stay.

~ Michelle Budiwski

February 23, 2025

#DeadMomWalking #CancerJourney #LiveForThem #ColostomyLife #Stage3Cancer #MustRead #MedicalChoices #StayAndFight

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