Courage and Kindness

“Courage is a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger,

and a mental willingness to endure it.” – Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

At times, for me, the idea of being courageous has nothing whatsoever to do with danger in the warlike sense that Gen. Sherman meant it, but simply in the notion of doing whatever needs to be done in order to live.  As a breast cancer survivor, I have endured my share of surgeries, pain, sadness, fear and being at the mercy of others.  I have known gratefulness for those who take the extra moment to connect humanly to me and I have seen others who don’t see me as anything more than another duty.

But in fact there are times in our lives where we all have to show some courage…we have to go out on a limb and try to be the person we desire to be most.  To take that small extra step or extra moment with someone else.  To have a bit more patience than necessary and than comfortable.  To reach out beyond what is expected in order to comfort a loved one, a friend and even a stranger.

To me, sometimes it’s the little things which tug at my heartstrings.  Not that I don’t appreciate the big ones either because I do.  I clearly remember my first breast surgery  back in 2002 and the subsequent hospital stay.  In the middle of the night I had to go to the bathroom and I couldn’t get up out of bed by myself.  The male nurse who arrived kindly helped me to the restroom, waited outside for me to finish and then helped me back into bed.  As I slid back onto the pillows in my bed, he patiently took all the covers off of me and rearranged them, smoothing them so that they weren’t a mess like me.  To have my bedding rearranged and smoothed, pillows fluffed and tucked in made me more comfortable for which I was truly grateful.

It was one of the kindest things I’ve had happen to me at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.  I know it probably sounds strange to you, but sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most!

So today, on your travels, take a moment when you get that flash of inspiration to hold a door, smile at someone or even just say a kind word.  Your little extra effort means the world to you and to the recipient!  It always does.

Shine On!

xo

Pink Post Gratitude to Lisa Boncheck Adams

Every person has a story. So, too, does each chair.

There is comfort in routine.

Some people are superstitious. Sometimes they want the same chemo nurse, the same appointment time, the same chair. “If it is working don’t mess with it” applies to many things about treating cancer.

I am always thinking about continuity and the stories that objects tell. I’ve written twice about the tape measure my plastic surgeon used to measure me before surgery. I’ll post those pieces again this month.

Whenever I sit in a chair in a doctor’s office I think about all of the people who have sat in that chair before I have.

Each person has a story. So, too, does each chair. That chair is the starting point for this piece from 2011.

………………………….

“I think so too”

That chair you’re sitting in?
I’ve sat in it too.
In waiting rooms. Chemo rooms. Prep rooms. For tests. Surgeries. Procedures. Radiation. Inpatient. Outpatient. Emergency visits. Routine visits. Urgent visits. To see generalists. Specialists. Surgeons. Alone. With friends. With family members. As a new patient. Established patient. Good news. Bad news. I’ve left with new scars. Prescriptions. Appointments. Words of wisdom. Theories. Guesses. Opinions. Statistics. Charts. Plans. Tests. Words of assurance. More bloodwork. Nothing new. Nothing gained. Nothing but a bill.

That feeling you’re having?
I’ve had it too.
Shock. Disbelief. Denial. Grief. Anger. Frustration. Numbness. Sadness. Resignation. Confusion. Consternation. Curiosity. Determination. Dread. Anxiety. Guilt. Regret. Loss. Pain. Emptiness. Embarrassment. Shame. Loneliness.

That day you’re dreading?
I’ve dreaded it too.
The first time you speak the words, “I have cancer.” The first time you hear “Mommy has cancer.” Anniversary day. Chemo day. Surgery day. PET scan day. Decision day. Baldness day. The day the options run out.

Those reactions you’re getting?
I’ve had them too.
Stares. Questions. Pity. Blank looks. Insensitivity. Jaw-dropping comments. Tears. Avoidance.

Those side effects you dread?
I’ve dreaded them too.
Nausea. Vomiting. Pain. Broken bones. Weakened heart. Baldness. Hair loss. Everywhere. Unrelenting runny nose. Fatigue. Depression. Hot flashes. Insomnia. Night sweats. Migraines. Loss of appetite. Loss of libido. Loss of breasts. Phantom pain. Infection. Fluid accumulation. Bone pain. Neuropathy. Numbness. Joint pain. Taste changes. Weight gain. Weight loss. Mouth sores. Fevers. Anemia.

That embarrassment you’re feeling?
I’ve felt it too.
Buying a swimsuit. Getting a tight-fitting shirt stuck on my body in the dressing room. Having a child say “You don’t have any eyebrows, do you?” Asking the grocery line folks to “make the bags light, please.” Wearing a scarf. Day after day. Wondering about wearing a wig because it’s windy outside and it might not stay on. Holding on to the bannister for dear life. Passing out in public.

That fear you’re suppressing?
I’ve squelched it too.
Will this kill me? When? How bad is chemo going to be? How am I going to manage 3 kids and get through it? Will my cancer come back and take me away from my life? Will it make the quality of life I have left so bad I won’t want to be here anymore? Is this pain in my back a recurrence? Do I need to call a doctor? What is worse: the disease or the treatment?

That day you’re yearning for?
I’ve celebrated it too.
“Your counts are good” day. “Your x-ray is clear” day. “Now you can go longer between appointments” day. “See you in a year” day. First-sign-of-hair day. First-day-without-covering-your-head day. First taste of food day. First Monday chemo-isn’t-in-the-calendar day. Expanders-out, implants-in day. First walk-without-being-tired day. First game-of-catch-with-the-kids day. First day out for lunch with friends day. First haircut day. “Hey, I went a whole day without thinking about cancer” day. “Someone asked me how I’m doing, I said ‘fine’ and I meant it” day.

That hope you have?

I have it too:
More research. Easier access. Targeted therapy. Effective treatments. Better quality of life. More options. Longer life. Less toxicity. Fewer guesses.

Ultimately, someday, for my children or grandchildren perhaps: a cure.

Don’t you think that would be amazing?
I think so too.

** I am so moved by Lisa’s story and this post that I had to share ~ thanks for reading.  I think it makes no difference whether you are fighting breast cancer like we have or any other illness.  We can bond together to heal…that’s the most important piece of the puzzle.

Shine On!

xo

The Right To Fight Like A Girl

Keep Calm and Fight Like A Girl

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enter the fray this morning, but I can’t help it.  I’m drawn, like a moth to flame today.  My heartfelt thanks to my dear friend Florence who wrote The Right To Fight as it has spurred me on to write as well.  For you see, it’s a touchy subject and although I’m not one to pursue it too much, I must today so please allow me to go on or you can choose to simply pass me by ~ it’s ok.  The post will be read by those for whom it is intended.

Death is a subject that is controversial as you can see by Bill Keller’s recent article in the New York Times click here to read.   It’s personal ~ the way each individual reacts to it and deals with it.  For breast cancer survivors (I, myself being a 12 year survivor), it’s emotionally charged when we read an article about how an individual deals with her diagnosis, her treatment and how she reacts to her disease.  Florence has written a great post which I will not repeat.  Please make sure you read how she has reacted to the recent article by Mr. Keller.

Instead, I prefer to focus on Lisa Adams click here to visit her site.   For when I read her About Page  I was stunned by our similarities:  we shared Memorial Sloan Kettering as our hospital, how our original diagnosis’ were much the same (although I had 6 lymph nodes with cancer) and it was my right breast and her left one which had the cancer.  We endured the same chemotherapy treatments ACT, yet back in 2002, my treatments were every 3 weeks and not every 2 weeks.  I endured 6 weeks of radiation, where she had 1 week less.  We both lost and regained our menstruation cycles after chemotherapy as we were young when diagnosed.  I was diagnosed at  34 years old;  Lisa was 37 years.  We both had salpingo oophorectomies (ovaries surgically removed) which of course, plunges young women, including Lisa and me, headlong into menopause ~ speaking for myself, since I’d already endured menopause as a side effect of the chemotherapy, only to have my period return which was hormonally hard to deal with let alone physically, mentally and emotionally, what was one more final round of menopause?  Heck, I’d already lost my hair, my dignity and my figure let alone my breasts.  What was harmful in losing one more thing that could be affecting my cancer prognosis?

But Lisa’s cancer, for whatever reason, came back and metastasized.  Mine didn’t.  It’s not that I still don’t have that possibility in the back of my mind because I’d be lying if I said that I don’t think about it.  Every 6 months when I’m tested at my oncologist’s, I’m reminded that cancer can still be lurking inside my body.  It doesn’t help when there are aches and pains which happen occasionally either as they tend to wither my resolve to stand firm in my thinking that I will live forever cancer-free.

Lisa’s public journey through metastasized breast cancer is new to me as I had never met her before nor visited her website.  But I highly applaud her perseverance, her integrity and her drive to lift the veil and to share what’s really going on behind the pink-ribboned spectacle of breast cancer.  Much talk is about prevention and early detection, but rarely do we read/hear about the women in the trenches who are battling death daily.  My friend Jenn was such a warrior who lost her battle a few years ago.  It was Jenn who told me through a medium that one must know her limits at the end of her life and to make sure that I knew what I wanted.  I never forgot that message nor the one that told me that my scans were clear, clear, clear and that I now walked for 2 ~ me and you.

I believe we all have a right to choose how we deal with our imminent death (if we are given such a gift) ~ we can choose like Keller’s father-in-law to go peacefully or we can choose like Jenn and Lisa to battle with a fierceness known only to few.  Whatever you choose, I stand for you and I fully defend your individual right to choose.  There is no right or wrong way to die, it’s a personal matter.   I heartily applaud Lisa’s courage in sharing her journey with us.  My heart holds a heaviness for all she is enduring as well as her family and all the others out there in our great big world who are dealing with dis-ease and the ending of life as we know it here.

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  See below for posts about Jenn…Happy Birthday Jenn (Jan 13 she would have turned 38)

Bonding-with-strangers

Spirits-and-Music

I-walk-for-two

You have the Power!

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word,

a listening ear, an honest compliment,

or the smallest act of caring,

all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia

I picked this card because of it’s simplicity…and most of all, because of what it says…yet again, another reminder that we are all connected my friends.  As yesterday’s post was about sharing, I want to continue in that vein because we all have the POWER to TURN A LIFE AROUND ~ EVEN OUR OWN!

I’ve experienced this kindness multiple times in my life ~ those soul stretching pockets of time that stand still in our memories ~ because they change something within us.

Nazrin was a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering who changed my life in an instant.   When given the news that I was to have a mastectomy, I was brought into the room to meet one of the nurses who would be helping me along the way.  I was not expecting this news so I was shocked to say the least and having to make a lot of life changing decisions without having time to process the information of the upcoming surgery.

I felt alone, in despair and confused…weak and saddened and so unsure of everything.   My husband and I were simply shocked.

I was sitting down and Nazrin came in ~ surveyed the situation and immediately smiled.   After introducing herself to my husband and to me, she did the most remarkable thing ~ so simple, yet so powerful…

She took my chin in her hand and made me look at her.  Staring straight into my scared eyes, she gently said to me,

“You can do this ~ I know you can.  I will do this with you.”

Yet another person in my life, a stranger at the time, told me that they believed in me…and that they would do this with me.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much it meant to me.  In fact, I don’t think there are enough words to properly explain that feeling.

“I will do this with you.”

Yes, I have Faith and yes, I have a loving husband who has supported me without fail…but a stranger?

I can confirm that true to her word, Nazrin was always there for me during my journey and I am forever grateful.

~ Always Remember ~

You have the Power…

xo