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BOOK EXCERPTS:     Lung Cancer     The Moment     Brain Tumor Cancer     The Gamma Knife     Battle with Lung Cancer     Cancer Survival

THE AUTHOR, VERNA ACKER Verna grew up on a small farm in north central Wisconsin as the oldest of seven children. Verna learned to be a caregiver in her earliest years as she handled the responsibilities of rearing her siblings while her parents worked in their shoe repair shop and on the farm. Verna's first lives included divorce, dealing with an alcoholic husband and an alcoholic mother, single parenthood, money troubles and ultimately, business success and a "near perfect" marriage to Ivan. Ivan stepped into Verna's life in 1985. Their marriage combined two families that grew to include 7 children, 20 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and several "in-law" children and great-grandchildren. Ivan and Verna have lived together in the small home Ivan built in 1956 in the small riverside community of Waterford, Wisconsin. Verna was an educator for about 14 years, teaching in northern Wisconsin and in southeastern Wisconsin. She graduated from the Taylor County Teacher's College in Medford, Wisconsin with an associate degree in education in 1962. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point at age 35. After moving to Waterford in 1977, she became a real estate agent. Twenty-five years later, Verna still enjoys selling real estate. She has owned her own business since 1986. WRITING ABOUT CANCER SURVIVAL Writing has been a penchant of Verna's, but most of her written words are still in her files, waiting to come to life. She self-published a real estate "how-to" book in 1993 named, Being in Real Estate is Like Being Pregnant - either you are or you aren't. She has had several articles published in real estate industry and business magazines on the local, state and national levels. THE FINAL OUTCOME As this web site is being created, Verna is alone. Ivan succumbed to the ravages of cancer and its complications in February, 2003, twenty-two months after his initial diagnosis. This incredible man's determination to live and the love of his family and friends, buoyed him along for more time than any of his physicians could have possible predicted. His story will give others hope where there is no hope and determination when times seem the bleakest. His story will inspire, whether you are trying to live with cancer or whether you are trying to cope with other battles that seem hopeless. With the love of family and the miracles of the Good Lord, combined with an indomitable spirit, there is no limit to the possibilities.