Seven years ago this month, I was completing four months of bi-weekly, dose-dense chemotherapy for Stage II breast cancer and about to embark in seven weeks of radiation treatments. I am now cured and grateful to be alive. I was fortunate to have taken my family's history of breast and other cancers seriously, and began to monitor with mammograms prior to the age of 40. I was also blessed to have excellent health insurance so the burden of treatment was bearable without the added distress of financial ruin. Not all Americans are that lucky. I calculated that one year of treatment cost approximately $250,000 including all hospital bills, diagnostic tests, treatments and medications. Sadly, despite all the research, about 40,000 continue to die of breast cancer every year. Nevertheless, most women survive and never experience a recurrence. I hope to be one of those. To insure that, I do what is within my power: I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke, I eat a healthy diet, and I exercise regularly. On the emotional side, I try to lead a balanced, stress-free life, forgive and let go of hurts, and exercise gratitude every day. Although I no longer run, I was proud to participate in a number of
Susan G. Komen races. I no longer wear pink, mainly because I don't endorse the marketing craze. It just doesn't really seem that the money ends up in research. During
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I want to take this opportunity to thank my oncologist, Dr. Leonard Kalman of
American Medical Specialties; my surgeon oncologist,
Dr. Robert Derhagopian; their wonderful staffs; and the
Cancer Support Community of Greater Miami for all their wonderful support programs offered at no cost to cancer survivors and their caregivers. When I was diagnosed, it did not come as a complete surprise. My mother had been diagnosed at the same age. But I was surprised because I felt I was the healthiest I had ever been. I had just finished running my fifth (and now last) marathon. I was training for and competing in sprint and international distance triathlons. I had not visited a doctor's office in at least five years. I maintained a healthy lifestyle and only visited an acupuncturist and a chiropractor periodically. In fact, I had to go to the FIU (I was in graduate school) women's clinic to get a check-up and a prescription for a mammogram. My bias toward alternative medicine caused me to worry about embarking in traditional Western treatment, but I knew this is what I had to do. I decided that my experience would be contingent on my attitude toward the people I encountered. My experience turned out to be wonderful. Everywhere I turned I met helpful, caring individuals who were concerned for my wellbeing. The journey through cancer turned out to be a blessed one, filled with insights, awakenings and spiritual growth. It is for that reason that I write this blog today. Today I celebrate life with gratitude to all those who helped me during those difficult months -- making me soup, bringing me books, giving me rides to chemotherapy and reading me poetry when all I could do was stare at the ceiling in a "chemo fog." Thank you all!
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