Thursday, November 5, 2009
How Exciting!
I received the first email, in response to my request for survivor stories, this morning from a fellow survivor, who wants to share her story on the blog!! I'm so excited, this is really working! We really can make a differnce in the world around us, with both big and little actions. I never thought I would be able to look at my breast cancer experience as a way to help others and change the face of breast cancer. Life is truly amazing. I am so grateful for the opputunities each day offers me. Thank you for helping to make a difference in the our world!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
A Call to Breast Cancer Survivors
I am looking for Beast Cancer Survivors who would be willing to send me one of their colorful bras to include in the quilt. If you are interested or know anyone who might by, contact me by email and we can chat.
I am also looking for Breast Cancer Survivors who are willing to share their story with me.
Changing subjects just slightly, I have started the process of getting the blog out there on the web. I am hopeful and excited to hear from folks.
TTFN
I am also looking for Breast Cancer Survivors who are willing to share their story with me.
Changing subjects just slightly, I have started the process of getting the blog out there on the web. I am hopeful and excited to hear from folks.
TTFN
Monday, November 2, 2009
Scope of the Quilt Project
There are 3 major aspects to this project.
1. Design and construction of the Quilt. In order to do this I need caregivers to share their stories of the breast cancer journey from their point of view and I need breast cancer survivors to send me their stories and their pretty colored bras.
2. The quilt will go on a tour, similar to the tour the Aids quilt went on. At each stop on the tour, the quilt will be displayed and breast cancer survivors will have an opportunity to sign the back of the quilt. People will also have an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for the chance to win the quilt once it has completed its tour.
3. The Quilt's story will be documented here on my blog, as well as any comments and stories that people would like to share. After the quilt has been raffled off and placed in its new home, all the blog pages will be complied together in a book.
I am very excited about this project, about being able to offer a place and an activity that could bring healing and a sense of competition to all those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.
It is with the warmest of wishes and deepest of hopes that invite you to participate in this journey.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
So Now What?
Well, I think I have successfully set all the gadgets, wizards, feeds, links, bells and whistles for my blog. Now I am ready to start the journey that is the reason for this blog. From my first post it is pretty easy to figure out that I am a breast cancer survivor. I am also a custom quilt maker. About 3 weeks ago the local radio station started asking folks to send their bras into them so that a quilt could be created out of them (October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all). Long story short, I am the quilt maker that has been given the honor of creating this very special quilt. It is here on my blog, that you will be able to be part of the process to create a quilt that is greater than the sum of its parts. A quilt that will convey the journey of who we were before breast cancer, what we had to become to survive treatment, who we are as survivors. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
My Cancer Story
It is my hope that by sharing my journey with cancer that you will find the strength, courage and hope for whatever journey you may be on.
In early February '08, I was diagnosed with Stage 3, Invasive Ducal Carcinoma Breast Cancer, I was 39 years old. I found a lump while doing a self examination in November '07. Because I live out in the country it took some time to get all the tests that were needed to render the diagnoses. In the end it was the core biopsies that told the story.
I remember waiting in my surgeon's office for the results. It was the longest and scariest 15 minutes of my life. However, I knew, deep in my heart, back in November ’07 that I had cancer. But since no one had actually said the words to me...Maybe I could hope and wish it away. No such luck.
After my surgeon used my name and cancer in the same sentence, my life as I knew it changed. Every aspect of what I had come to know to be true and believed in had either come into question or changed completely. The next two weeks went by in a blur. I had so many decisions to make and my brain would not function…it could not process anything.
I had to call my mom and have that conversation you never want to have with anyone much less your parents, " Mom, I have cancer and it's serious." We cried and she said what every little girl wants to hear when she is scared, "I'll be right there and we'll do this together." That phone call was the beginning of our journey together to kick cancer's ass. My mom left her home and partner in Washington and arrived at my front door 2 days later, prepared to put her life on hold to help me fight for my life for as long as the journey took.
In February '08 I had what I was told to be a left breast mastectomy (more about that later) with centennial lymph node dissection. The surgeon took a total of 12 lymph nodes, 8 of which contained cancer cells. The last 4 lymph nodes were completely clear. I awoke from the surgery with such a sense of relief, that the cancer was out of my body and could no longer continue to grow and harm me. Many wonderful people came to see me in the hospital to offer their support, prayers and love. I think I called on every single one of them over the course of the next year.
Two weeks after surgery, I was scheduled to start chemotherapy. One small glitch had to be dealt with first. I need to move out of the house I had been sharing with my partner. During this whole process I got to see my partner as person who’s actions I could not live with. So the weekend before chemo my gal pal gang showed up to paint the new place and move me in.
On Monday Cheryl, my best friend, took me to my first chemo appt. I was schedule to receive 4 months of High Dose Dense ACT, every 2 weeks. I was scared. I remember when the nurse wheeled in the IV pole strung with several bags of chemicals I could not pronounce, that it was real "I had cancer and I had to do this to save my life." Cheryl held my hand and was my strength while I cried over my new realization, She gave me one of the greatest gifts that day, she loved me unconditionally.
I had a very hard time with Chemo. I was almost immediately violently sick and lost 40 pounds off my already shrinking frame in the first 2 months. I had to go to the infusion center almost daily to receive IV hydration and anti-nausea medications in an effort to stay out of the hospital. I remember during one of my chemo treatments having to ask the nurse if it was “ok to puke with all these tubs in me”. It seemed like I was either getting sick or lying on the bathroom floor recovering from being sick. I got shingles, carbuncles, chemo soars in my mouth, all of which delayed and hence prolonged my chemo treatment, I was hospitalized twice and in if losing all my hair was not bad enough, I also lost all my toe nails. I must say that by the time I was done with chemo not only did I feel like the walking wounded, I looked like it too. I had to learn to be gentle with myself during and after chemo. I could not do what I used to be able to do and on some days all I could do was get up. My mom feed me as best she could and cared for me when I could not care for myself. And we made it threw chemo alive!
Radiation was just as hard for me. I had to commute for 1 ½ hours one way to get my treatment. The radiation made me so tired. I experience 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over my left chest and back and I basically slept for 8 weeks. I was so frustrated with still being so sick at this point. I just wanted to be able to stay awake for more than a couple of hours and have a coherent conversation with the people I loved. Both were not possible for me. Again I needed to be gentle with myself and keep believing that one day, I would start to feel better.
After radiation, I went to Stanford to seek advice about my right breast and reconstruction surgery. At Stanford I met 2 wonderful doctors who told me several things. First the surgeon, Dr. W., informed me that the other surgeon who had performed my left mastectomy had left “a lot” of breast tissue behind. Not a good thing with the aggressive – estrogen positive, Stage 3 Invasive Ducal Carcinoma that was found in that breast. I was beside myself. I wanted to scream and ring his neck. With this new piece of information I scheduled surgery to complete the left mastectomy and perform a prophylactic right mastectomy. Second, the plastics guy, Dr. L., let me know in no uncertain terms that he could not do any reconstruction to my left chest until my radiation burns had healed. I was looking at a 6 to 12 month wait. Sigh, I just wanted to be whole again but it was not in the cards I held at that time. So on December 3, 2008 Dr. W. removed my breasts. She removed over ½ a pound of breast tissue from my left breast. I was shocked and wanted to ring the first surgeons neck again. The pathology reports for each breast came back clean!! Thank God !!! I was so I relieved. The reports from my oncologist also came back clean. For now I was done. God, my mom, my doctors, my friends, my loved ones and myself had kicked cancer’s ass!!! Now I could get on with the business of healing and rebuilding my life.
This February 2, 2009 was my one year anniversary. Over the past year I have started to come to terms with the many, many loses that have punctuated my life over the past year and I have begun to embrace the many, many lessons and insights this journey has given me. Some of the most amazing insights have been; I am not my boobs, they do not define for me what it means to be a women. I try not to take today for granted…it just might be my last. I cherish everyone I love, and tell them that I love them daily. I smile if for no other reason then because I am alive. I am learning to be gentle and loving with myself and others, it heals the body, mind and the soul. I laugh a lot just for laughter’s sake. I have realized that my loved ones and friends will save my ass when I just can’t save it myself. I are so stronger than I ever imagined. My back bone is composed of courage, honesty, compassion, determination, and faith. I have started walking towards those impossible dreams (the ones I have held close to my heart, never believing I could accomplish them) and before I knew it I have begun the journey to achieve some of them. And what I know for sure is that if My God and I kick cancer's ass, then there is nothing we can't accomplish. And finally, may God bless each one of us as we stand tall and walk into the next phase of our lives as survivors!
In early February '08, I was diagnosed with Stage 3, Invasive Ducal Carcinoma Breast Cancer, I was 39 years old. I found a lump while doing a self examination in November '07. Because I live out in the country it took some time to get all the tests that were needed to render the diagnoses. In the end it was the core biopsies that told the story.
I remember waiting in my surgeon's office for the results. It was the longest and scariest 15 minutes of my life. However, I knew, deep in my heart, back in November ’07 that I had cancer. But since no one had actually said the words to me...Maybe I could hope and wish it away. No such luck.
After my surgeon used my name and cancer in the same sentence, my life as I knew it changed. Every aspect of what I had come to know to be true and believed in had either come into question or changed completely. The next two weeks went by in a blur. I had so many decisions to make and my brain would not function…it could not process anything.
I had to call my mom and have that conversation you never want to have with anyone much less your parents, " Mom, I have cancer and it's serious." We cried and she said what every little girl wants to hear when she is scared, "I'll be right there and we'll do this together." That phone call was the beginning of our journey together to kick cancer's ass. My mom left her home and partner in Washington and arrived at my front door 2 days later, prepared to put her life on hold to help me fight for my life for as long as the journey took.
In February '08 I had what I was told to be a left breast mastectomy (more about that later) with centennial lymph node dissection. The surgeon took a total of 12 lymph nodes, 8 of which contained cancer cells. The last 4 lymph nodes were completely clear. I awoke from the surgery with such a sense of relief, that the cancer was out of my body and could no longer continue to grow and harm me. Many wonderful people came to see me in the hospital to offer their support, prayers and love. I think I called on every single one of them over the course of the next year.
Two weeks after surgery, I was scheduled to start chemotherapy. One small glitch had to be dealt with first. I need to move out of the house I had been sharing with my partner. During this whole process I got to see my partner as person who’s actions I could not live with. So the weekend before chemo my gal pal gang showed up to paint the new place and move me in.
On Monday Cheryl, my best friend, took me to my first chemo appt. I was schedule to receive 4 months of High Dose Dense ACT, every 2 weeks. I was scared. I remember when the nurse wheeled in the IV pole strung with several bags of chemicals I could not pronounce, that it was real "I had cancer and I had to do this to save my life." Cheryl held my hand and was my strength while I cried over my new realization, She gave me one of the greatest gifts that day, she loved me unconditionally.
I had a very hard time with Chemo. I was almost immediately violently sick and lost 40 pounds off my already shrinking frame in the first 2 months. I had to go to the infusion center almost daily to receive IV hydration and anti-nausea medications in an effort to stay out of the hospital. I remember during one of my chemo treatments having to ask the nurse if it was “ok to puke with all these tubs in me”. It seemed like I was either getting sick or lying on the bathroom floor recovering from being sick. I got shingles, carbuncles, chemo soars in my mouth, all of which delayed and hence prolonged my chemo treatment, I was hospitalized twice and in if losing all my hair was not bad enough, I also lost all my toe nails. I must say that by the time I was done with chemo not only did I feel like the walking wounded, I looked like it too. I had to learn to be gentle with myself during and after chemo. I could not do what I used to be able to do and on some days all I could do was get up. My mom feed me as best she could and cared for me when I could not care for myself. And we made it threw chemo alive!
Radiation was just as hard for me. I had to commute for 1 ½ hours one way to get my treatment. The radiation made me so tired. I experience 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over my left chest and back and I basically slept for 8 weeks. I was so frustrated with still being so sick at this point. I just wanted to be able to stay awake for more than a couple of hours and have a coherent conversation with the people I loved. Both were not possible for me. Again I needed to be gentle with myself and keep believing that one day, I would start to feel better.
After radiation, I went to Stanford to seek advice about my right breast and reconstruction surgery. At Stanford I met 2 wonderful doctors who told me several things. First the surgeon, Dr. W., informed me that the other surgeon who had performed my left mastectomy had left “a lot” of breast tissue behind. Not a good thing with the aggressive – estrogen positive, Stage 3 Invasive Ducal Carcinoma that was found in that breast. I was beside myself. I wanted to scream and ring his neck. With this new piece of information I scheduled surgery to complete the left mastectomy and perform a prophylactic right mastectomy. Second, the plastics guy, Dr. L., let me know in no uncertain terms that he could not do any reconstruction to my left chest until my radiation burns had healed. I was looking at a 6 to 12 month wait. Sigh, I just wanted to be whole again but it was not in the cards I held at that time. So on December 3, 2008 Dr. W. removed my breasts. She removed over ½ a pound of breast tissue from my left breast. I was shocked and wanted to ring the first surgeons neck again. The pathology reports for each breast came back clean!! Thank God !!! I was so I relieved. The reports from my oncologist also came back clean. For now I was done. God, my mom, my doctors, my friends, my loved ones and myself had kicked cancer’s ass!!! Now I could get on with the business of healing and rebuilding my life.
This February 2, 2009 was my one year anniversary. Over the past year I have started to come to terms with the many, many loses that have punctuated my life over the past year and I have begun to embrace the many, many lessons and insights this journey has given me. Some of the most amazing insights have been; I am not my boobs, they do not define for me what it means to be a women. I try not to take today for granted…it just might be my last. I cherish everyone I love, and tell them that I love them daily. I smile if for no other reason then because I am alive. I am learning to be gentle and loving with myself and others, it heals the body, mind and the soul. I laugh a lot just for laughter’s sake. I have realized that my loved ones and friends will save my ass when I just can’t save it myself. I are so stronger than I ever imagined. My back bone is composed of courage, honesty, compassion, determination, and faith. I have started walking towards those impossible dreams (the ones I have held close to my heart, never believing I could accomplish them) and before I knew it I have begun the journey to achieve some of them. And what I know for sure is that if My God and I kick cancer's ass, then there is nothing we can't accomplish. And finally, may God bless each one of us as we stand tall and walk into the next phase of our lives as survivors!
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