A Worthy Cause

Next week, I will be celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. It is during this time of celebration that Jews throughout the world reflect on how they will promote the practice of tikkun olam (repairing the world) in the upcoming year.

Thanks to my dear friend and next door neighbor Liz (the same gal who wrote the “Fun” with Eve blog entry a few months ago), I have the opportunity to get started with my "repairing the world" efforts early. Liz has been actively involved in raising funds for breast cancer research.

This is another cancer that is particularly poignant for me since my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. She was fortunate in that they were able to remove her cancer and not subject her to chemotherapy.

This year to honor women in Liz’s life who have had to battle breast cancer and to raise more money, Liz has written an essay called Answering the Call that is included in a new anthology called Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in our 40’s. This project has been pulled together by her friend and fellow leadership specialist Molly Rosen in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month – October. All proceeds from the sale of the book benefit Breast Cancer Action (www.bcaction.org <http://www.bcaction.org/> ). They hope to raise over $50,000 from the sale of the book – THIS YEAR!

Here is your chance to honor someone you love who has been affected by breast cancer AND be entertained with a collection of real-life, tell-it-like-it-is stories from women in their 40’s. I would be so grateful if you would consider:

1. Ordering their book at www.amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com/> or your local book seller. Order many copies and give them to everyone on your holiday gift list. They also make great hostess gifts!

2. Passing this information on to others you know. Encourage your friends and families to buy the book and help end breast cancer!

3. Come to a reading. Locally, they will be at Montclair’s Great Good Place for Books on Sept 26th at 7pm. Other locations around the country are listed on the site www.knowingpains.com <http://www.knowingpains.com/> .

I'm so proud of my friend and neighbor Liz for her role in this amazing book. Once again, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by truly phenomenal people.

Identity Crisis

When I arrived back at work three weeks ago, my role at the Port had changed a bit. Now I report to the Executive Director - an exciting new career opportunity which has made coming back to work a bit easier!

Being back at work, things are starting to become normal again and I’m getting back in my routine. You’d think that’s a good thing, but for some reason it feels odd.

So much of my identity this year has been tied to having cancer. For the past 9 months I’ve been the "cancer girl." I was immersed in the treatment, the recovery and the full mind-body approach to fighting. It truly became a huge part of my identity. I was so open about having cancer, that it was a part of almost every conversation that I was engaged in.

It is hard to remember what I talked about before I had cancer. I know that I am a big talker, so I must have had something to say, but it eludes me. Fortunately, the elections have provided me with some conversation options, but it is time for me to reengage fully not only in my work, but also in the world around me.

I am not going to give up my proud status as a cancer survivor. But cancer no longer defines who I am. I realize that it will take some time to discover the new me, but in the meantime it is a awkward balancing act - one that changes every day in new and challenging ways.

I Had The Port Removed!

On Tuesday, I went to Stanford Hospital to remove the port from my chest. Even though I had the option to leave it in (just in case), I decided that since I was not going to be dealing with cancer again, that I should remove the port. I felt that psychologically I needed to remove it to demonstrate to myself—and the world—that I was done with cancer.

Although the actual procedure isn’t a long one, Stacia and I spent the majority of the day at the hospital. Between the prep work and multiple discussions about what I was about to do, it was a very long day.

Since Tuesday, my chest has been extremely sore, but fortunately, the pain has been slowly diminishing. It’s hard to believe that the chemo part of my recovery plan is officially over. Now – on to that post-cancer action plan…

In Remission

Yesterday, Pat and I had a phenomenal meeting with Dr. Fisher where he confirmed that the CT scan showed no sign of cancer. He said that I am now heading into the most difficult time for a cancer patient – the time without a medical plan of action. He told me that while you’re fighting the cancer, you have a specified program and you just work through the program. But once a patient becomes “cancer-free” – then what?

My biggest fear is recurrence. As Dr. Fisher pointed out during our meeting, people have the best shot at beating cancer the first time you get it. If you are unfortunate enough to get a recurrence, it's a harder task to get rid of the cancer. As you all know, I am not one to just simply sit back and hope that the cancer doesn’t return. I have to have a plan.

Dr. Fisher explained that there is a recent study that shows that lifestyle is linked to non-recurrence of cancer. There are four lifestyle factors that they have proven impact fending off cancer: exercise, having a lean body, a low fat diet and taking a daily dose of aspirin. I now have my action plan:

• Acupuncture—which I will continue on a regular basis
• Herbal Program—I'm meeting on Thursday with my herbalist who will map out a go-forward herbal and dietary program
• Low-fat Diet
• Exercise
• Aspirin

As for where I’m headed medically—I will have blood work done every six months and will get a colonoscopy and CT scan on a yearly basis. Dr. Fisher believes that with a regular colonoscopy, they will be able to spot polyps early and remove them before they turn into cancer. Furthermore, they will be utilizing the CT scan to ensure that the colon cancer does not spread to other parts of my body.

I have also had genetic testing which showed no genetic propensity (at least that they could detect) toward other forms of cancer. Basically, this means that I have the same chance as everyone else of getting other cancers, such as breast or lung cancer, so I just have to do the regular testing.

Dr. Fisher said that I now have to get used to the new, cancer-free me! He said that he felt very positive about my likelihood of being cured. He was very pleased with how I weathered the past 8 months and felt that my future was very promising. When I make it to 5 years, my likelihood of cure goes up to 90-95% and when I make it to 10 years, there’s a 99% chance that the cancer will not return.

So – make sure to pencil in on your calendar to attend the blowout event that I’ll be hosting in 2018!