2011 Annual Fund Appeal

Three years ago I felt a lump and thought, “it must be one of those cysts, again.”

I headed straight to my physician’s office and then went for a mammogram, more tests and a biopsy. I didn’t worry though... I thought “it can’t be cancer.”

The results came back. I was absolutely stunned. It was breast cancer—ductal carcinoma in situ.

In preparation for treatment, I underwent more testing. I met with the surgeon and the radiation oncologist. I read as much as I could about what awaited me. I tried to figure out how... what... when... I was going to tell my son, Isaiah. He was just 6 1/2 years old.

During a pre-treatment exam a “new” lump was discovered. In fact, this was the spot I had originally noticed but, somehow, it had been missed. This tumor was invasive. My cancer was no longer contained. It seemed that everything I knew was unraveling.

With my medical team, I was using words that I never thought that I would utter... radiation, chemotherapy, mastectomy. And, at home, Isaiah asked me if I was going to die.

At that point, I knew that we were both going to need more than my love—or my professional training—to make it through this experience intact. Isaiah was scared... and so was I. In those early days, many people mentioned HopeWell. As soon as I could manage, I made the call.

I enrolled Isaiah in HopeWell’s Kids Circle program and he just loved it. He bonded with the other children and the facilitators. When Isaiah showed me the artwork that he did in the sessions, that helped me to talk to him about my diagnosis. While Isaiah met in his group, the adults would meet separately to talk about the ins and outs of parenting with cancer. Kids Circle helped to ground both of us. It became part of our new routine.

Cancer is a terrifying journey and is not anything that I thought I would ever experience.

And HopeWell has been such a gift... to have a place that is comforting and uplifting, we always leave there feeling renewed, connected and stronger. There is, simply, no place like it.

These days, when people ask me how I’m doing, there is a lot I can’t say. So I just say, “I’m good for now.” I can’t say I’m ‘cured.’ I can’t say I ‘won the battle.’ I just can’t say that.

If I could, I would bring Isaiah to HopeWell’s Kids Circle forever... but these days, my biggest challenge is keeping up with his soccer schedule!