The Toughest Marathon of My Life: October 2012

My journey - battling lymphoma

Recently I celebrated my 46th birthday. I love celebrating birthdays! Then I participated as a co-captain for our local "Quabog" Relay For Life and the Pack 57 Rocks! Cub Scout Team. This was the time frame that I had discovered an uneasiness in my stomach and growth in my spleen and stomach. After weeks of monitoring, my husband Steve took me to the doctor who felt the lumps and ordered a CT scan. The CT scan showed a massive area, my spleen enlarged to twice its size and an additional growth lower in my stomach. Next was the localized CT guided biopsy and subsequent PET scan. The biopsy showed positive for lymphoma and most likely Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.

This is my online journal sharing my experience through battling this cancer that has abruptly entered my life for no apparent reason. The story is documented here if you want to start from the beginning, you can check the archives on the side bar.

As a top competitive master athlete this year winning my age group at the Marine Corps Marathon and placing 3rd in the New England Trail Running Championship I have been truly excited with my results of late and am a truly driven athlete. Driven by goals.... my goal right now.... to beat this "thing"!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Spreading the word of survivorship & Sharing HOPE

Sharing my story has really been a way for me to reach out to others and give hope to those that may be facing a cancer diagnosis and a way to connect with other survivors in sharing strength. When you open up and share your life, others can really be inspired to be strong, be strong as a caregiver, and know that there is hope. Working for the American Cancer Society - I know there is hope, there are cures to be found and better treatments every day. When I was diagnosed, I felt armed with all the right information and that is so critical for survival on so many different levels.

Here is a shortened version of my story I shared in San Francisco before leading the group in the opening lap of the McKesson hosted Corporate Relay on Justin Herman Plaza right by the Pier. There were more than 400 in attendance in the crowd. It was a beautiful Relay and so many great people opened up to me and thanked me. It is pretty great when you can make an impact on so many in a short period of time.

Check out the photos below that were taken that day by me and my husband Steve.... :) Congratulations to all those survivors out there and the many participants recruited --It was an incredible experience for me to be out there sharing the HOPE.

Let's FINISH this fight!