Surviving...and other things.

It's been a while since I've posted.  I have returned to work.  'Nuf said!
Life gets busy when you are able to get off the couch and out of the bed.

What's new?

- My hair is growing back - slowly but surely.

- I had the BRCA test done and have received my results.  I tested negative for the BRCA 1 gene and the BRCA 2 gene was not negative or positive, it showed a circumstantial abnormality.  This is a grey area that is inconclusive and the medical experts are frankly not sure what it really means.  In other words, there is a slight abnormality along the gene line for BRCA 2 but there is no evidence that this abnormality caused me to get breast cancer nor do they know if it is a precurser to another type of cancer.  Myself, my husband and daughter have an appointment to talked to an expert genetic counselor at Stanford in August.  We will be able to dive more deeply into the meaning of the results of the test.  More to follow...

- I had a follow up appointment with my oncologist a couple of weeks ago and she was amazed at how well I was doing so shortly after chemo.  My energy level is up and more importantly, my attitude and fears about cancer are well in check.  I HAD cancer, I went through the treatments to ensure that we killed it, and I can now go forward with life without living in daily fear of the dreaded beast.  The only worry is that my white blood cell count was low and we will be monitoring it closely.  It is most likely due to my body recoverying from chemo.

Coincidence, or fate?

I was attending an event an hour from home with my daughter a couple of weeks ago.  I arrived early and decided to go shopping.   While in the store, a women with two small children approached me and whipped off her hat and said, "Look, another person with my same hairstyle!"  We stood there among the racks of clothing and exchanged our recent breast cancer journies.  It turns out that she was diagnosed and ended treatment at exactly the same times as I did.  It is like we are members of a club of sorts - there is recognition and certain connection when you run into fellow cancer victims and survivors that is undeniable.  It always ends in hugs and comforting words.

Once I left the store and arrived at the event with my daughter, I ran into a very dear friend of mine's (who has since passed from pancreatic cancer) daughter.  My friend's daughter confided in me that she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and was about to begin her journey through this disease.  It tore at my heart to think that after losing both her mother and father to other types of cancer that she now had to fight a battle of her own.  I have every confidence that she will fight and beat this nasty beast and she has a very positive attitude that will undeniably help her through this.  It was just such an oddity to run into her at this random event and to be able to share with her my story and for her to see me on the other side of this, looking and feeling good.  I am proud to be an inspiration to others and to be an example to show that one can go through the treatments and come out the other side to thrive and survive.  My friend's daughter and I both agree that it was not just coincidence that we met that day.  It was meant to be.

I am honored and privileged to help anyone I can get through the hard times and assist where I can.  If my experience can help or change just one life then I say it was well worth going through it.