Cover Story Manda Maxwell is "Manda Strong" as a Cancer Survivor

When Manda Maxwell gave birth to her first child, Aiden, on January 26, 2009, it was one of the happiest days for her and her husband, Aaron. Manda was very excited about this new phase of her life called parenthood. Unfortunately, this excitement would be short-lived when one week later, she would receive devastating news.

Within one week of Aiden’s birth, Manda broke her leg. After having an MRI, Manda was told she had cancer. The cancer had been caused by radiation treatments she had undergone 22 years ago for a rare form of childhood cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma that she was diagnosed with in 1986 at the age of five.

Although she had been cancer free for 22 years, it seemed that a secondary cancer had returned.

She immediately met with a specialist and it was determined that they would have to amputate her leg. On February 13, 2009 just two weeks after giving birth to her first child, Manda had major surgery to amputate her leg. The next two months would be very difficult. Not only was she having to take care of an infant while adjusting to having just one leg, but she also had to decide on a treatment plan with three doctors who had very different opinions.

“Because I already had a lifetime limit of most of the treatment drugs, two of the doctors were not comfortable administering them to me. However, one doctor at MD Anderson in Houston felt it was the right thing to do and when I turned to God for His direction, He gave me the confidence that the treatment at MD Anderson was the answer,” said Manda.

The chemo was very aggressive and in April and May all treatments had to be given in the hospital which meant more time away from her baby, making her situation more difficult
to endure.

By June, she was fitted for a prosthetic leg. “It felt like years since I had last walked on my own and I wanted so badly to be able to walk my sleepy baby back and forth and watch him fall asleep,” she said.

Between June and November, treatments were given to her at Baylor Hospital in Dallas which fortunately, brought her closer to home and her family.

Manda admits that at times, she was scared and couldn’t believe she was reliving this illness, 22 years later, but at other times, she was confident that God would heal her again the same way He did when she was five. “I finally decided that I would choose faith over fear,” she said.

Last year, her friends created the team, “Manda Strong” for Relay for Life. She was undergoing treatments in Houston and unable to attend. But this year is different. She is the team captain for Manda Strong and will lead her team in this year’s ceremonies. The bible verse that she has selected to guide her team this year is, “The Lord is my strength and my song, He has given me victory.” Exodus 15:2.

“The journey I took in 2009 was not one I would have chosen, but one that God led me through. My faith in my Lord Jesus kept me going and my trust in Him told me that I was not alone. After each difficult moment, God gave me the strength to continue. I am thankful for my family who has been there every step of the way and for my church family at First Baptist Church of McKinney. They showed their love for us during our toughest hours with prayers and monetary support,” she said.

Manda holds strong to her faith by telling us, “Jesus did not promise His children a perfect life. In fact, He tells us that as His children, we grow in our faith the most during the trials in our life. I did a lot of growing this past year.”