Clydette Huddleston~ Breast Cancer survivor

Life is ever changing. Many times we welcome these changes and many times we do not. On May 15^th, 2001, my life began changing dramatically and leading me down a path that Ihad not chosen. “The biopsy of your breast shows you have breast cancer,” the doctor said as I lay in a post-anesthesia stupor. My mind was flooded with thousands of thoughts:  

“Not me; it couldn’t be me. Surely there is a mistake. I don’t want to have breast cancer. Is there any chance that there has been a mistake? Lord, please let it be a mistake!”

The next several months were filled with a multitude of doctor’s appointments, consultations with various medical professionals, multiple surgeries, complications, chemotherapy, and finally the diagnosis became a reality to me. The path to recovery had many twists and turns including a recurrence eighteen months after my initial surgery.

 I read once that the only thing worse than being told you have cancer is being told you have cancer for a second time.

Another course of surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy ended in April of 2004. I have often said that cancer was not a path I would have chosen, but would not have missed the many blessings that came with the journey. Along the way, God has shared many blessings with me to include a renewed relationship with Him as well as with my husband and children. He has blessed me with renewed friendships and brand new friendships.

I have been surrounded by unimaginable love.

Throughout my treatment, there have been “top-of-the-mountain” times and there have been “lowest-of-the-valley times.” One of the gifts that that I have been given the opportunity to begin a new vocation. I now counsel women and men who are beginning the journey through cancer diagnosis and treatment. Burlington Pharmacy Healthcare and St. Luke hospital have provided me the opportunity to manage a store that specializes in providing products that will help patients through difficult times. I will continue to find ways in which I can help others battle this horrible disease called Cancer.

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness”

~The DaliLama

•         -Clydette Huddleston

 

Sondra Morris~ Ovarian and Lymphoma Cancer Survivor

I consider my Ovarian and Lymphoma Cancers as another adventure along the journey of life. This experience has taught me so much about the tremendous kindness and generosity of family, friends, and strangers.

Life will never be the same.

*Note from an anonymous admirer: Sondra Morris is a person with a truly compassionate heart. She was probably the most ill person on the pink canoe that day. To look at her is to see a survivor. She has been battling cancer for many more years than most of us dare even think about. Her journey is a special one; and she, above everyone with cancer whom I have ever met, has clearly made peace along her journey.

And with her selfless heart, she prayed for me one day.

Knowing Sondra has made me finally make sense of the phrase “It is not what you know, it is who you know.” To Sondra ~ you are so blessed and you are so loved.

The teal balloons on the canoe and the teal ribbon are the color for Ovarian Cancer awareness. They are for ovarian cancer patients and their families.

~Sondra and Jim Morris          

Donna Dunn: Ovarian Cancer Survivor

 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Caner in April, 1999. I was given, at the most, less than two years to live. In April of 2001, after two-nine month stints of intensive chemotherapy, I was told that I was in nremission. According to my doctors, I am a walking miracle. I am excited to announce that I had testing   done on May 31^st, 2005 and I am cancer free! I do not know why God chose me to stick around. Apparently, I have a purpose yet to fulfill. I have always believed that I was brought into this world to make people laugh. This is what has gotten me through life; and it is what I will always recall no matter what life throws at me.

My life has always been an uphill struggle. The downside of being a cancer survivor is, for me, finding employment. I currently work at “The Korn Store” in Butler, Kentucky, thanks to my best friend Butch Reeves (owner of the store). Unfortunately, this is only seasonal. Disability will not accept my application and I feel that this is because I did not run to the doctor for every ache and pain. I do not currently have medical insurance.

Having Cancer has made my life financially difficult. It seems that as soon as I mention why I have not worked in four years, future employers come up with some excuse as to why they can not hire me. Most often I hear the “We’ll call you” statement after an interview. That phone call has yet to come. I know that I am at high risk regarding any type of medical prognosis, and that increase in medical benefit use often raises the insurance policy premium. I feel that prospective employers will never tell me this because it is against the law to use this kind of discrimination. Still, the phone does not ring.

I have been making the most of my life anyway!

One piece of advice I would give too thers diagnosed with this horrible disease, it is that there is always a bright side to every situation. It may not be the easiest thing to find; but it exists.

Laughter and a positive attitude have gotten me through some of the darkest and scariest times in my life.

One other thing I would recommend to cancer patients is to avoid getting “Cancer Information Overload”.

It may seem hard, but it is best to deal with things one step at a time.I have encountered other cancer patients that became obsessive about getting all of the information possible available about cancer. While it is good to know what you are going through medically, much of the informatiothat is available is depressing.

Taking things in slowly, and maintaining a reasonably normal lifestyle is a much healthier way to fight cancer.

                     Donna Dunn

         “There is a courage of happiness as well as  a courage of sorrow”

         ~Alfred Alder

Connie Staley ~ Breast Cancer Survivor

I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was forty-two years old.                                                                                                           I first found a lump in my left breast in August of 2002. I knew that this lump was very different than the fibrocystic lumps I had experienced since I was a teenager. Many women have fibrocystic masses in their breast throughout childbearing years.

This lump was different and I knew it.

At first, I was very scared and I went into my “shell” to think about what I would do. Looking back, I wish that I would have gone to my doctor right away. Instead, I waited about two months before going to see my doctor. I still feel that I should not have waited.

I am telling my story because I want to let other women know not to wait if they find something suspicious during a self exam. If you find a lump, go and see your doctor right away.

Do not hesitate, do not wait, and do not think that it will go away.                

It will not. Ignoring it could cost you your life.

I am two years out of chemotherapy now and I still have fears each time that I go in for a check up. Learning that these fears are normal has been instrumental for me. Coping and dealing with life one day at a time are most important to me now.

“There are only two ways to Liveyour life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though every thing is a miracle”. ~Einstein

•         -Connie Stately

Dayle Baxter ~ Breast Cancer Survivor

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of forty when my life seemed settled  and good. At the time of my diagnosis, I was the nurse in charge of tracking abnormal pap smears and abnormal mammograms at my job in a large Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky OB/GYN office.      

I simply couldn’t come to terms with the fact that this was happening to me.

I had no family history of breast cancer and a normal appearing mammogram. I wandered how many times had I read the note on the bottom of each mammogram report that states:

 “85% of breast cancers are found my mammogram” leaving 15% that are found by clinical exam and some by self breast exam.

I had actually found a lump under my arm and went to my family doctor. He prescribed the standard treatment of an antibiotic for a possible lymph node reaction to an undetected infection. When the lymph swelling did not respond to the antibiotic, he recommended the surgical removal of the node. His commendation honestly wound up saving my life because it was cancerous!

I underwent nine months of treatment 8 years ago and learned first hand the personal battle of a breast cancer survivor.

Today I am Nurse Navigator at The St. Luke Center for Breast Health and am honored to help get women through the breast cancer experience. I am forever thankful for my family, co-workers, and the Lord who helped me

“get to the other side” of breast cancer!

Fortruly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

 –Matthew17:20

                      -Dayle Baxter

Patty porter~ Breast Cancer Survivor

My name is Patty Porter and I was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10^th, 2004. My story begins with my 40^th birthday. For me, turning 40 was great! I was healthier and more physically active than ever before. The beginning of this new and exciting decade was brought to a halt in January of 2004. What had looked like a shadow on my left breast soon turned into a dimple. I had my yearly mammogram the previous September and was preparing for my third annual thermal imaging scan (everything came out clear).

By the time I saw my doctor, half of my breast had dimpled; by the time I saw the breast surgeon, my entire side of my breast had dimpled.

After my lumpectomy in March, which confirmed Cancer, I spent the rest of March through September going though 16 chemo treatments. A bilateral mastectomy followed in November. My chemotherapy treatments were rough, especially towards the end. After gaining 10 pounds at the initial start of treatment, by the end I was dropping weight drastically. I had developed several ulcers and was unable to eat or drink. I lost thirty pounds within a couple of months and barely tipped the scale at 100 pounds by the time I had surgery.

While going through this journey, I was blessed with an overwhelming amount of support from my family, friends, and co-workers.

I did not discover “The Pink Ribbon Girls” until four months into my treatment. It was comforting to be in contact with others my age that have had similar issues. Being a member of PRG, I can only hope to be a supportive person who is there for others going through this journey. I was blessed with a great deal of support from others, but it was very meaningful and comforting to have the extra support of someone who has been there.

Now that I am 10 months out from my last chemotherapy treatment, I am getting back on track with my life. I am now out hiking and kayaking preparing for a couple of trips this summer.

Has breast cancer changed my life? Yes!

Am I allowing it to run my life? No!

Using common sense, my lifestyle will be to remain active and more importantly, healthier than ever before.

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. ~Margaret Cousins

~Patty Porter

linda hermes ~ Nurse navigator st. luke breast center

It’s funny how life can change. Change is a part of life and I believe in the saying:

“Life is what happens when you have everything planned”.

Three-and-a-half years ago, at my daughters soccer game, I ran into a previous co-worker who is now Vice-President of St. Luke Hospital. We shared bits and pieces of our lives and a few weeks later I found myself at a job interview being asked if I was a risk taker? I was interested in being a Nurse Navigator at St. Luke Breast Center. The center had opened in May 2002. I believe that many things in life are not a coincidence, and every person we meet has a lesson to teach us.

I believe that many things in life are not a coincidence, and every

person we meet has a lesson to teach us.

My mom passed away from colon cancer at the young age of thirty-five and throughout my nursing career I felt drawn to someday work in oncology nursing. With the opening of St. Luke Breast Center I was given a chance. I rarely look at my position as work. I feel blessed that I have been given the opportunity to continue working in Women’s Health and especially to be a source of education and support when someone is sentour way with a newly diagnosed cancer. My life has been changed by the many women who have allowed me to be a part of their lives as they go to war in their battle against breast cancer.

Through our support group, The Circle of Hope, I have witnessed the resilience of the human spirit when life

takes an unexpected path.

Thank you, Julie, for all your hard work with Paddlefest and your dedication to ending breast cancer in our lifetime.

Karen Dziech ~Breast Cancer Survivor

My story begins at the age of 35 when I decided NOT to wait to have a BASELINE mammogram at age forty.  I had a non-cancerous lump removed from my breast when I was in college and both my grandmothers had breast cancer. My grandmother on my father’s side had breast cancer at age 47 and colon cancer at ages 72 and 76. I am thankful to say that we celebrated her 90^th birthday on February of 2003. My grandmother on my mother’s side has breast cancer in her early 80’s and died at the age of 93 after a wonderful life.                                                                                                                                                      I was not going to wait until I was 40 to start checking it out!                                                          

Sad to say, even though I had my yearly breast exam and pap smears, I didn’t have follow up mammograms every year. I thought that I was ahead of the game and that my next mammogram would be at the age of 40. Although I found a lump in November of 2001, it was just before we were leaving for Thanksgiving vacation, and I didn’t tell anyone. As soon as I got back from vacation, I went to my OBGYN and he told me to get a mammogram. I had my mammogram on the Friday before Christmas. I could tell it was not good because the X-ray jacket had one of those “Urgent call Dr. with Results” stickers on it. After Christmas, the doctor called me and said I needed to see a breast surgeon. Being thirty-eight-years-old, I did not know anyone with a breast surgeon, so I just took his recommendation hoping it was a good one.                                                           

I am happy to say that GOD and my OGYN were watching out for me. With my seven-year-old son in tow, I met with Dr. Lydia Hernandez. I am grateful that I was referred to her. She, of course, knew what she was looking at, but as she puts it: “We talked more with our eyes than with words that day”.        

She wanted to do a core needle biopsy right away so she put my son in her office area to wait. When I returned from my biopsy, there was my sweet child coloring away, with the surgeon and another mother/daughter team looking over an X-ray above his head. What a sight!  The day after I met Dr. Hernandez, I learned that I had breast cancer.

The news was hard on my family. I had surgery including a lumpectomy and sentinel Lymph node removal on February 4^th,  2002. On Valentines Day, I began receiving chemotherapy. I had both this and radiation until Labor Day in 2002, when  I received my last treatment.

During chemotherapy and radiation, I tried to keep life as normal as possible. My two boys, ages 7 and 9, were depending on me. My son and I participated inthe Church Easter Drama, by the grace God, during my Chemotherapy treatments.I continued to work, watch my children play in sports, and even go on vacation.

In the years to come, I want my children to remember this experience as a time when“Mommy had cancer, mommy was bald, mommy wouldn’t wear a wig (but biker scarves were cool), and most importantly,

                 MommyBeat Her Cancer!

Thomas Crotty ~ son of Breast Cancer Survivor Tina Crotty

My name is Thomas Crotty. I am eleven-years-old and the son of a breast cancer SURVIVOR., Tina Crotty. It was a couple of days before my birthday when my mom told me she had breast cancer in November of 2004. I felt kind of shocked because my grandmother died because of breast cancer. My mother fought through the terrible chemotherapy.

She was different when she was sick. She did the same thing for a long time like staying in bed all the time. Sometimes she watched TV for a long period of time.

This scared me because I did not know what might happen to her.

My brother was over in Iraq, which I think made things worse. It was also hard because her grandson had to leave our house. It feels a lot more confusing then before chemotherapy.

Since my mom was always sick, it means she’s not so helpful

So everything was different and more difficult.

I helped my mom as much as I could when she was sick. I am happy that her chemotherapy is over and that she is a survivor. I was proud to ride with my mom on the pink canoe and celebrate with her.