Update on my niece & half-marathon info
hi all-
i posted a while back about my late husband's niece being diagnosed with breast cancer during a surgery for a pituitary tumor. turns out that the tumor was breast cancer after all and she also has mets to her spine. all this at age 37 and a lifetime of severe diabetes. currently all they've done for it (approved by Dana Farber) is radiation, Zometa and Tamoxifen. she's not HER2+.
because of her, i decided to do the Boston Marathon for the Jimmy Fund Walk (i jog and walk) this year and form a team. i did the entire 26.2 miles in 1999 and 2000 - before cancer ever touched my life, never knowing what a severe impact it would have later. this time i am doing the half-marathon length of 13.1 miles instead - aching bones and 12 yrs older.
so i formed a team called BRAVE - B for my mom barbara (ovarian cancer), R for my husband robert (esophageal cancer), A for bob's niece aimee, V for me valerie, E for everyone touched by cancer. a good friend of mine joined the team to support me. then, in an incredibly cruel twist of fate and irony, she was diagnosed with breast cancer last week herself. she had her lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy monday and is at least a 1B with at least one positive node. she is going to need chemo no matter what (she's ER & PR+ and HER2-) BUT says she is determined to still do the 13.1 miles with me unless she is physically unable (she's long been a runner).
SO now i had to revise my team name to the BRAVES to add Stacy in there. i am still waiting to get over my WTF moment.
i'm also walking/jogging for our Courtney and others - too many others - lost to cancer. the list is on my team page. if you feel that you'd like to donate to our effort, i would be touched, but regardless, i just wanted to tell you all. 89 cents of every dollar raised goes toward cancer research and patient care at Dana Farber in boston, just named the best cancer hospital in new england. i still remember all of the patients waiting at the finish line in '99 and 2000, cheering for us. if it made me cry then, i have no idea what it will do to me now after all this. but it is one CONCRETE thing i can do against cancer. i am the only one among mom, bob and aimee who can walk much less run. so i'll do it for them... and stacy ..... and courtney ..... and all of you.
valerie
http://www.jimmyfundwalk.org/faf/sea...m=5115912&cj=Y
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8/09 - IDC 1.8 cm triple positive, lumpectomy left breast
10/09 began chemo (taxotere & carboplatin) and weekly herceptin.
1/21/10 finished chemo, continued on herceptin every 3 weeks until 10/2010.
2/10 began 7 wks of radiation
6/10 mom dies of primary peritoneal ovarian cancer
8/10 got my last remaining ovary out
10/10 mammogram all clear
3/11 MRI shows 5 'spots' in right breast, largest 1 cm unidentifiable on US
needle biopsy proved the largest to be old inflamed cyst -phew!
7/10 switched to Arimidex
8/9 switched to Femara - allergic to arimidex
Femara made me lose hair quickly so switched to Aromasin
Aromasin made my hair fall out too and the bone pain was too much.
back on Tamoxifen 1/2013.
blood clot from trains and planes 5/2014 so on coumadin per onco for as long as i am on tamoxifen
tamoxifen was supposed to be up with my 5 yrs in may but my boyfriend was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer so i am staying on tamoxifen indefinitely because i want some ammo against BC, given the stress. lost my husband in only 10 wks in 2007 to stage 4 esophageal cancer.
cancer's screwing with another man i love
2/2016 - 6yrs in remission, off tamoxifen and off coumadin - yay!
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