Jerry Davenport

"We stayed at an RV park called ,Almost Heaven'," Davenport said."We were there 60 days in that RV, and we said that if those people on ,Survivor' thought they had it tough on their island, they should try ,RV Survival'.But, really, we had a good time."

On Oct. 2, 2002, Davenport underwent surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes in her neck, along with her neck muscle.Then she had six radiation treatments.

"They were five times as strong as regular treatments, so it was like getting 30 treatments," she said."Then they gave me interferon.Dr. Gary Clayman told me that the interferon treatment would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do.He said that only 50 percent of patients finish their first month.I leaned over to him, until our noses were almost touching, and I told him that I would be in that 50 percent."

During her 60 days in Houston, Davenport was cheered by the cards she received from family and friends.

"I didn't receive any my first day, then I got cards every day for the other 59 days," she said.
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I think that the best thing I ever did in my life was fall in love with Jerry Davenport."

Davenport loves to cook and bake, but was so drained by her illness that she didn't have the strength.

"Once I got everything out to make a cake, and then I was too tired to do it," she said."Another time I tried to bake a cake again, and I reached into one of the kitchen cabinets."

What she found astounded her.

"Nobody had lived in this house for 13 years before we got it, and my mother and mother-in-law had cleaned it all out," Davenport said."But I found an unopened box of mustard seed in the cabinet.To me, this meant that if I could just have this tiny bit of faith, God would take care of the rest.When I was sick I was so close to God that I felt His breath on my cheek."

Davenport gradually got back into life, though she had to undergo surgery in 2004 to remove a tumor in her abdomen.

"I didn't drive for 2 1/2 years, and I had to learn that all over again," she said.

For 10 months she baked pies for a restaurant in Girard.Now she's a substitute teacher in Girard.This summer her parents took her and her sons on a vacation to New Mexico.

"We went to a county fair and they had a rolling pin toss," Davenport said."I chucked that thing 87 feet and three inches, and won first place."

She has always been very athletic, and lettered in 10 sports in high school.

"I can't do a lot of the sports I did before, because I can't get hit on the right side of my head," she said.
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"We are blessed with an extreme amount of friends," Davenport said.

She is also reaching out to help others with cancer.

"I've started a cancer support group in Fort Scott, and we'll have our second meeting at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 3 at Mercy Health Center, Fort Scott," Davenport said."Dr.