About Me:
Who am I? I am a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend. I’m someone who watched an Aunt go through Breast Cancer and survive. I watched my dad go through Throat Cancer and win - only in a different way (may you rest in peace and love). In 2006 I watched David and Janice (brother & sister-in-law) train for the 3-Day and cheered them on and got a taste of what it is like to walk this 60-mile Walk of a Lifetime. Even walked with Janice a couple of times for her training in 2007, it’s not as easy as it looks. Many people walk for someone they know. Janice walks for her mom and David and Janice walk for Me.
Today, I am training for the 60 mile walk of a lifetime. It is my way of thanking David & Janice for walking. Today, I am training to be in the Inner-circle wearing a Pink Shirt. Today, I train for I Survived.
Why I Walk and Joined This Team:
IT wasn't supposed to happen to ME! It was supposed to be the "other gal", someone I didn't know
It was December 9, 2005, 8:35 am, I was at work. It was a nice quiet morning, Christmas was in the air, and we were in the process of decorating the office when I received the call. Shock, Fear, Disbelief - Numbness ... time stood still. The words still ring in my head “Ductile Carcinoma (Invasive) In Situ”, breast cancer! I wanted to scream, throw anything I could get my hands on, cry. After calming down to where I could drive, I went home and told my Mom. We spent the afternoon crying and holding tight to each other. While the shot of Jack Daniels was a comfort, my greatest comfort would come from God, my family and friends.
Going through surgery was the easy part (ask mom and Janice and they may say differently). The hard part was yet to come. My Oncologist ordered a “Port” surgically implanted. Today, I wear that scare with pride. Chemotherapy is an exhausting process and it began on January 19, 2006. I wasn’t prepared for the rush of emotions that brought. Fear - what would happen, what if the chemo didn’t work, would I die? Questions I’m sure every cancer patient asks. With each treatment came nausea, fatigue, aches and pains. Each week involved blood tests, thank God for the port. IV’s to counter act dehydration, trips to the Emergency Room, fevers, pains that only painkillers could stop and days of restlessness or extreme fatigue, and hair loss. After my last chemo treatment I thought this is it, I’m done - I did it, I survived! I could handle anything, so I thought. One week after my last treatment, I woke with a high fever (102° - bad news for a cancer patient) and unable to swallow. I was taken to the ER ... diagnosis - thrush, blood counts so low they didn’t register and the list went on. Treatment - major antibiotics, 2 units of blood, 4 days in ICU and 4 days on the ward in isolation. I was told, after the fact, that they were not sure I would make it through the first night - I was so sick.
One month later, I started 31 rounds of radiation. I thank God for healing me every day. The power of prayer - it works!
Having breast cancer or any type of cancer affects your whole family and friends. It is something you go through by yourself, yet not by yourself - if that makes sense. There are days you ask “is it worth the pain”; those are the days you pray more often to God for Healing and hold tight to your family. You ask everyone you know to pray for you. Then one day you wake up feeling better, energy returns to your body, your hair starts to grow back, your smile returns and you feel like a SURVIVOR. Life is good and you go on.
On May 26, 2008, I celebrated my 2 year Survival Anniversary. As an Anniversary gift to me, I am walking in the Tampa Bay 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. Compared to chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries this will be a cake walk (got you to smile, right?). Why walk? I’ll be walking for my mom, sister, niece, aunts and cousins so they don’t have to go through what I did. I’ll walk for my Aunts who fought breast cancer when it wasn’t talked about, for they paved the way. I’m walking for every mom, grandmother, aunt, sister and cousin. Is the cure just around the corner? There is only one way to find out, we need your financial help. Research costs money and providing services for our sisters who do not have insurance costs money. Think about this - one chemo treatment (for me) cost close to $5,000, how much is the life of a woman you know worth?
Why walk? I am a Survivor - what better reason.
My donation link:
Please support me as I take an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer!
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