Power of the pen

MARION TOWNSHIP, Ohio - When Matthew and Patricia Theis of Marion Township decided to write a book, they had no idea that they would become famous authors.

It's not yet on the New York Times best sellers list, but "Clarabelle the Cat Loses Her Hair" is an absolute masterpiece.

Patricia is dealing with much more than hair loss. She has cancer. Patricia has been a stage four breast cancer survivor since 2001.

"My cancer is terminal," she said. "My diagnosis a year ago was one to five years."

"When we were starting out, the very first diagnosis, it was devastating," said Matthew. "Things get better, and then it goes back and you are devastaed again."

Although the inoperable cancer found on her bone gives her little hope, Patricia's family and this book, gives her the will to live.

"I would be laying on the couch and he would go up and do things, lift my spirits up," she said. "I wanted to do something for other people who had cancer."

Three years ago Patricia and her husband decided to write about her fight with cancer, in a way that makes sense to everyone. Her book is a story of Clarabelle the Cat through the eyes of a cancer patient.

"You can't measure it in words," Matthew said. "She's an inspiration to me."

It has not been easy.

"I had an adult look at me and laugh because, apparently this adult thought I looked funny," Patricia said.

She relays her experiences to the readers, and children who enjoy her book.

"It doesn't matter what other people think of me," she said. "It's how you are on the inside."

Cancer is a terrible disease that can strike at any time. But through the power of the pen, Patricia is fighting back one page, one word, one moment at a time.

"I decided I could just lay there and feel sorry for myself, or I could do something positive," she said. "My last wish is to help others."

It's a wish that has been granted.

For more on Patricia's story, check out Findlay Living's feature on her. Findlay Living is a FOX Toledo News media partner