Breast Cancer Awareness Month...the Survivors Among Us

 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. You cannot go anywhere without seeing something about the disease.  It has become a movement.  A beautiful, important, movement which has lead to new technologies, legislation, treatments and supportive resources.  We all know someone who has battled, died, survived, is currently in the fight, or we, ourselves may be currently battling this disease. There is a wealth of information available about how this disease ravages bodies, kills mothers, sisters, daughters and changes families forever.  Yes, this does happen, and it happens a lot, but what I personally think needs be shared, are the stories of survivors and the personal interactions that have made the difference to this one person and how it helped this person survive.  I would like to spend this month honoring the survivors among us, in the Junior League of Morristown, I know you are out there.  Each week, I will put up a story of survival and how you made it through. If you want to remain anonymous, no problem here, but I think the inspiration is what we all need to hear.  

To start us off, I'll share my story: I want you to know that I am 38 and a three time breast cancer survivor.  I survived because of the people who loved me and know me the best. It has been a five year ordeal, 15 surgeries, 4 cycles of chemo, radiation and the list goes on and on.  During this time, the random things my friends and family did were the things that kept me going. Because honestly, Thomas (hubby) and I had two goals which were to get me healthy and give Jakob (my them 2 year old) a "normal" childhood.  We were buried in the monotony of managing a disease along with life.  Let me tell you, it took a army of people to get us to where we are today, healthy and as normal as can be expected, but the blips from my friends were what helped keep me fighting.  For example, one of my friends mailed me a tumbleweed he had caught in Arizona and spent $20 mailing it to me.  Another friend, who was a tour manager had SEAL (yes, the one now divorced from Heidi Klum) send me a t-shirt and she dictated my thank you note to him.  Another friend sent people magazine, need I say more? and then my very best friend drove up from Texas to me in Minnesota and sat with me for hours…on the floor. We all made it, and we are stronger, but there is always a little thing in the back of my head saying "check, check, check." 

In order to end this on a light note, I have come up with some things to say to survivors that you know REALLY WELL:

1- Wow, your boobs looks great!  Did you have work done recently…. (by the way, did you know you can choose perky or saggy boobs when doing reconstruction?  Who knew?)

2- I will love you through thick and thin.  (this also works for balding men, unfortunately they usually don't take it as well as a chemo patient)

Thank you for sharing your time with me.  Have a wonderful week and send me your stories. And well, anything else you think would be fun to share. 

Kelly