Father publishes late daughter’s cancer memoir

Millsboro resident Jeremiah Davis recently published “Live Love Hope Believe: A Cancer Warrior’s Journey,” the inspiring first-person account of his late daughter’s battle with cancer.

When she was 38 years old, Heather Davis Johnson was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. She was a wife, a sister and a friend to many, but her most important role was being Mom to Grace and Katy, who were only 5 and 3 at the time. Within days of her diagnosis, Johnson declared that she was a warrior. She waged an all-out, five-year war on cancer with great courage and determination, but also with humor and wisdom.

Johnson kept an almost daily account of her journey on social media and wrote of her victories, her setbacks, her ups and downs, and her hopes and dreams for the future. She also wrote of her love for her daughters, her husband and her family. Once she was cancer-free, she planned to publish her musings in book form and to work as an advocate for other cancer patients, to help them through the maze of procedures and red tape, to give them hope, and to inspire them to become the kind of fierce and determined warrior that she was. While she did not live to fulfill that desire, her father promised her that he would ensure that her story was told and her message delivered.

Johnson’s book was published in February and is available on Amazon in paperback and as a Kindle eBook. Her father believes Heather’s message will give readers hope and determination, whether they are a cancer patient, a caregiver or otherwise interested in her story. There are portions that are laugh-aloud funny, while others may evoke tears. Johnson's wit, wisdom, courage, faith and love will certainly inspire a desire to live as she did. 

Painfully aware of her mortality, Johnson wrote, “I do not take my tomorrows for granted. I wish I did, but I can’t. I live my todays like they are gifts. I love the people in my life with my whole heart. I am not saving any of that heart for my tomorrows. I live now. I love now. I will love tomorrow when tomorrow’s sun rises, but for now I have today. I don’t wait to tell someone I love them.  Tomorrow isn’t a better day for that – the time is right now. I hope that I will have a million tomorrows, but I don’t put living or loving off. Be happy today.  Embrace today. Hope for tomorrow .... I am not without fear, but my sense of courage, faith, and my unstoppable will have no bounds. I know that if I lose, I will still have won. I know that I will go down swinging. I know that I feast on life and suck every piece of joy that I can out of my days and nights with my family. I know that I am loved.”