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Posts Tagged ‘doctors’

(Reluctantly) Reentering the Cancer World

Posted in Boston, Cancer, connections, family, Fundraising, hair, recovery, work, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes I forget. It’s actually getting so that I think about cancer less and less. By this I mean it only pops in my mind a few times a day rather than every few minutes, but still. It’s progress. But in the last week or so there have been more and more reminders:

  • Before the walk and trip, I had an appointment with Dr. H. Luckily, my tissues have relaxed and we are finally able to schedule the implant surgery! It’s looking like December. I am so looking forward to not being rock hard and feeling like a freak any more…
  • A dear friend of mine, who has been so supportive and encouraging through my journey, had a double mastectomy. Rest up and feel better, Jillian!
  • And multiple friends had family members or friends die of cancer. Every day I am so thankful mine was caught so early, and that there are treatments for my type. I know I am so blessed…

And it’s because I am so thankful that I want to do all I can to support others in their cancer journey. While most of the time I’d like to erase it from my mind and pretend it never happened, any time retelling my experience or even just supporting things like walks, can help someone else, count me in! And the month of pink is quickly approaching – in fact, events are starting this month:

  • This Thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m. is the Bright Pink Experiential Outreach – Enjoy light bites at  Joe’s American Bar and Grill, Newbury St., Boston, while connecting with other Bright Pink women in your community to discuss mutual experiences. This event is open specifically to high-risk individuals. If you have any questions or to RSVP contact Community@BeBrightPink.org.
  • Sunday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m. is Komen Race for the Cure 5k Walk/Run  in South Boston. It is so much fun – so much pink! 🙂 I’m excited not to be bald for the walk this year! 🙂 Oh – and for a couple more days there is a half off deal for registration on Living Social.
  • Sunday Sept. 29, Nashua, NH, Harley-Davidson Second Annual Save Second Base Ride for Breast Cancer. No, I’m not riding in this but encourage anyone with a bike to do it! Info: http://www.nashuahd.com
  • Thursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m., Revere Hotel, Boston: Runway for Recovery, a fashion show, silent auction and raffle to benefit families who have lost mothers to breast cancer. I’ll be volunteering with some friends from Genzyme, but you should attend and enjoy the evening!
  • Sunday, Oct. 6, 8 a.m., Hatch Shell, Boston: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk I’m really looking forward to doing this walk for the first time – the American Cancer Society helps so many people every day, and certainly helped make my experience better…
  • Sunday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m., Worcester Run Like an Antelope: The 2nd Annual Memorial 5K and 1-Mile Fun Walk in Memory of Megan Proceeds go to Metastatic Breast Cancer Research conducted at UMASS Medical School. I am hoping to make it over to this after the walk, if at all possible!
  • Sunday, October 13, 10:15 a.m., Providence, RI – Gloria Gemma Foundation Pink Pump Palooza, 5K Run/Walk and 10K Run – join Alicia and me on the Pink Pumps for a Cure Team or sponsor us! And hey, it starts and ends at Providence Place, so you can get some good shopping in after…
  • Friday, Oct. 18, 8 a.m., Lucca Boston: Breast Cancer in Young Women Forum for Patients and Survivors (A great day, no matter where you are in your cancer journey – and I will be speaking on the patient panel! And Dr. H will be talking at this event, too, so if you need a fabulous reconstruction surgeon…)
  • Saturday, Oct. 19, 4 p.m. Nashua Harley-Davidson Fashion Show and Live Auction – this is organized and run by my friend Robin and it’s one of my FAVORITE events of the year – so much fun! Fun Harley-Davidson Pink Fashion Show, live auction, huge raffle, great BBQ – and I think I’ll even be getting my first tattoo (a survivors ribbon) at the event. Who wouldn’t want to go witness that? LOL!

I’ll try to keep the event list on the right as up-to-date as possible, but never hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions. Hope you can join us for some (or all) of these great events. Hey, if we have to be in the world of cancer, at least we can be there together, support each other, learn from each other, make each other laugh and smile – and wear pink! 😉

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But I want to do all 26.2…

Posted in Boston, Cancer, chemotherapy, Decisions, Denial, Fundraising, hair, lymphedema, Planning, radiation, recovery, work, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 28, 2013| 4 Comments »

I am frustrated. (Hmmm… I don’t think this is the first time I’ve started a blog entry with those words!) Ever since March 2012 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and my dear friend Heather said “We are doing the Jimmy Fund Marathon Walk in your honor!” I’ve wanted to walk the full 26.2 miles. Last year I was still going through chemo, and hadn’t even begun radiation, so was only able to do the last five miles with the team. I said this was going to be my year!

Now it’s looking like it’s not. No worries, it’s not severe health related or anything truly bad like that, it’s just about listening and being smart. You see (maybe you should sit down, this is such a shock coming from me), I have a lot planned on September 8.

  • First there is the Jimmy Fund Boston Marathon Walk. I intended to walk the full 26.2 miles, beginning at 6:30 in the morning and guesstimating being done about 2 p.m.
  • Then it’s my cousin Rick’s wedding late that afternoon in Wrentham…
  • And as if that isn’t enough for one day, I need to then get to Logan for a 10:30 p.m. flight to Paris. (Yes, Paris – for work.)

At first it was like “great – you’ll be so tired, you’ll conk right out and sleep the whole plane ride!” Ah, but I can’t! We can’t forget the delightful lymphedema in my right arm! I was told that I will need to be up exercising it and walking around every hour of the flight – oh, because of the fear of blood clots, too, because of the tamoxifen. And this is also if my arm isn’t already swollen from the intense walk…

So my close friends and family have all chimed in. And there has not been one person who is in favor of my doing the whole 26.2. In fact, some have quite vehemently told me I will NOT be doing the full walk. (Note: when told I absolutely cannot do something, that usually makes me want to do it even more.) Arrrggghhhhh!!! Why does it all have to be on the same day???

But none of those dates and times are in my control. What is in my control is my body. And how much I put it through that day (and every other). Sometimes I forget I’m not superwoman. That I have limitations. (I know, this blog is full of shockers tonight, huh?) I honestly don’t want to be in pain or have an abnormally huge right arm for my Paris trip. I want to actually be in the work meetings I will be there for, not in a Paris hospital, simply because I was stubborn and insisted on doing it all.

So that’s that. I will only walk the half marathon: 13.1 miles. I’m trying to get over the feeling of letting people down by not walking the whole thing. I feel like I’m letting everyone down (not really sure who everyone is, but just everyone). The Jimmy Fund. Dana-Farber. Everyone who is donating to my walk. Myself. I know in my head that it’s not true; no one else feels that I’m letting them down. I will keep reminding myself that. And I will remember that, thanks to Dana-Farber and all the awesome doctors, researchers, nurses and everyone there, I am here and able to walk and raise money to help kick cancer!

And thank you to everyone who has sponsored me and my team – Team Inspire Boston – so far. I’m one-third of the way to my personal goal, and a quarter of the way to our team goal, all thanks to YOU! If you haven’t yet donated, please visit my personal donation page – even a few dollars – every cent counts and helps us conquer this horrid disease! Or even better: join us for the walk! Any distance is welcome! Go to Team Inspire Boston to sign up and enter code JF2013 for $5 off the registration fee. We’d so love to have you cross the finish line with us!

Oh, and speaking of Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund – it’s the annual telethon, which Nick and I were part of this year… and I guess in a way this year, too. I just saw this pop up in my Facebook Newsfeed from The Jimmy Fund:

jimmyfundtelethonCrazy to think that I looked like that one year ago. Boy, am I happy to have hair again! But if (literally) baring my head helped inspire someone to donate and help #KCancer, it was worth it!!!

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Flashback

Posted in Boston, Cancer, chemotherapy, family, Fundraising, prayer, recovery, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2013| 2 Comments »

The other night I was at a family party, laughing and eating and chatting away with everyone, when another guest arrived. She walked slowly, tentatively as if it hurt to move. She wore a heavy coat even though it’s August because she gets chilled so easily. And her face was pale, with sunken eyes. I heard one of her relatives whispering about her having just taken a Compazine to try to calm the nausea. 

A feeling of nausea suddenly rushed over me – it brought me right back to one year ago. Getting poked repeatedly to try to find a decent vein for the IV before we gave up and had the port put in. Feeling sick on the way to the hospital just because I knew what was coming. Sitting in the big comfy infusion chair, wrapped in heated blankets. Trying to smile and laugh as my family and friends tried to distract me and keep my spirits up, as the poison rushed through my veins. Feeling loopy on the ride home – and then sick for days.

I am so lucky. That was a short period in time for me – and every day it gets buried further in my past and becomes a smaller percentage of my overall life. This woman – as so many others – is not so lucky. It’s too late, they explained to me after she left. They’ve done all they can but it’s spread so much there’s nothing else they can do, except try to keep her comfortable. My heart ached for her and her family. And my mind raced, repeatedly thanking God for letting me find that lump when I did, and for being able to stop the cancer in its tracks.

I am scared all the time. I, like many survivors I know, see Tamoxifen as my wonder drug. As long as I’m on it, it will ward off the recurrence. I should be safe. But what then? There is no telling. A lot can happen in a few years – particularly in research and development. Maybe by then they will be able to not only detect earlier, but prevent – and cure. So I have hope.

It all takes money, though. This is why I’m doing the Jimmy Fund Boston Marathon Walk on Sunday, September 8. I want to do everything I can to stop this monster of a disease. Please join our team – Team Inspire Boston – and walk with us, or sponsor me. You can walk 3 miles, 5 miles, 13.1 miles or the full marathon: 26.2 miles. No matter what you decide – to walk or sponsor us (and no amount is too small – every cent counts!) – you will be helping to kick cancer and helping people like me (and maybe you) live a longer, happier life. Thank you.

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