One of the Tigers' new pitchers (Eddie Bonine) lost his mom (Danielle Eckman) to TNBC last week. She was only 51. There was an article in the local paper on how she was able to fly out in the beginning of the season to see her son pitch in his first MLB game. She had been a college soft ball pitcher herself. A very scary disease.
Stage 4 BC is not the same as Stage 4 in other cancers. I had a good friend with Stage 4 lymphoma. It had spread quickly to other organs. She went through a year of hell but in the end, she was cured, no thanks to Rituxan, which targets B cells specifically. The same with 'As the Tumor Turns" blogger. No Rituxan for BC patients yet. Maybe these PARP inhibitors will work out; it did for at least one Stage 4 patient. But for now, Stage 4 BC is a slow (in some cases fast if it gets into the brain)downward spiral. This is my biggest fear.
The other woman in my support group, a year out of treatment, recently had a strange swelling in her upper arm. She panicked thinking mets. They were still investigating its cause but suspect it to be a form of lymphedema. They told her "Don't worry: if you have mets, you will know. Patients always know." This did not make her feel better as she didn't know she had cancer in the first place.
Running 4 days in a row is hard. When the LiveStrong class is over (Tuesdays and Thursdays), I will run only 3 days in a row. It is finally getting warmer meaning I have to get out earlier sharing the road with rush hour traffic and more humidity. I ran without my hat today. The kids are out of school so I won't run into any of them on their way to school scaring them to death with my semibald head. My legs are now quite sore but I get a day of relative rest tomorrow.
I didn't see any deer today. On my patio, I hear the two competing male cardinals, each with a distinct song and the constant twittering of my flock of swifts, who don't seem this year to be in my chimney.
So I have several runners with cancer on my blog, Sara, Sarah, and Beth. Hi to you all!
In September 2008, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a huge shock to me. Within you will find my journey into the scary world of cancer and my struggles to emerge from it.
Monday, June 15, 2009
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7 comments:
you bet I'm a runner, and even though I'm walking while on treatment I love reading about your running and how many miles a week you are getting in!!
Sue,
You are so strong, I don't know how you do it. I try to bury my head in the sand when it comes to other women with TNBC. It's not really possible though. Even if you hadn't posted this story, I had plenty of people calling me... "Hey, Sheri, you hear about that woman that just died from TNBC?"
"No, No, please, go into detail and don't leave out one moment of their suffering before they died." (end sarcasm)
Did I ever thank you for all your advice and comfort while I was going through my chemo hell? I really don't have the words to tell you how much you've meant to me through this. I've read your blog and have been blown away by your strength. You're truly amazing.
You run without a hat? I'm not even brave enough to open my blinds in the morning without a hat.
Sending much prayer and love,
Sheri
Thank you so much for your kind words Sheri. I am fortunate not to have gone through the hell you have although the way you write about it is so humorous. I won't forget the image of the doctors investigating your fissure and the air just sorta let go in their faces. That will learn them.
Anyway, you too are on your way to recovery and getting this awful experience behind you.
I really love your blogs and like Beth says, we cant run just now but love to hear all about yours. I dont run well in heat which is why I love winter running. I had hoped to do the Snowdonia Marathon in 2010 but have had to put it back a year. Its a hard marathon and usually wet but beautiful!
I took my scarf off in the garden centre today because I was so hot. Some people just couldnt look at me, others avoided me, I felt like saying "its not contagious!"
xxx
I was thinking the other day about Heather from Heather's Journey. Do you still follow her blog? I lost the link and was wondering how she was doing. And also thinking that her stopping chemo early because her body couldn't handle it might help Sheri.
Hey Sue,
Keep up the good work running and blogging..
Your writing is so animated and interesting- just like you. Thanks for sharing yourself.
Kathy
PS My first trail run this weekend went well. Good thing I didn't know how hard it would be! I enjoyed being off the pavement, the path was so much kinder to my knees. What I saw of the scenery was lovely, but most of my time was spent staring at the ground in front of me to avid being tripped by tree roots or falling in the mud. Lots of mud, insects, hills, birdsong.
best wishes to you, kathy
Glad to see you are still getting out there, Sue! Don't worry about scaring the kids or others . . just stare them down. lol Heather said she would smile at the kids and acknowledge that she did look funny without hair. It helped both of them.
Sharon - here's Heather's link:
http://heathersjourneytohealth.blogspot.com/
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