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Liz’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Breast Cancer)

by 7 Comments
Dec
21
2011
Liz's Story (Breast Cancer) LR

I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer on May 28, 2010 at the age of 48 after finding my lump as I was boxing at WII’s Gold's gym. Who would have thought a game would have saved my life.  As I was boxing I felt something "pop" and, to make a long story short, the doctors think that when I did an uppercut a cyst popped & the tumor was under the cyst. I had a lumpectomy, Chemo, & 33 rads and, as of right now, am Cancer free. If it wasn't for my family, especially my NEW husband (just got married last week) not sure how I would have gotten through my year of hell! But I did and am now enjoying life to the fullest! Liz New Jersey Submitted 9-3-11 The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice. … [Read more...]

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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month!

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Sep
08
2011
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month!  Do you know what that means??  It's time to take action in the fight against pediatric cancer!  This month, I want to share some important statistics and resources about childhood cancer and how to become an advocate for all of the kids who have, are, and will fight.  It doesn’t take much but a heart for kids to make a difference! First, here are some major childhood cancer statistics…you can raise awareness simply by sharing these facts! -Cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease in kids -46 children each school day are diagnosed with cancer -7 children die each day from cancer -40,000 children are presently being treated for cancer in the United States -2/3 of childhood cancer survivors will suffer some type of long term effect resulting from treatment -1 out of 5 children diagnosed with cancer dies and in some types of cancer, 1 out of 5 lives -When diagnosed with cancer, 80% of children are diagnosed … [Read more...]

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Jaime’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma)

by 4 Comments
Aug
02
2011
Jaime's Story (Hodgkin's Lymphoma)

On October 4, 2010 I was given my most difficult challenge yet. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Stage 1). I should also mention that this also happened to be the fall of my senior year of college! My schooling has always been a number one priority, so being dealt an additional challenge was something I was willing to fight in order to be healthy and finish college on time. Chemo ended up being a lot harder on me than I thought it would be. I ended up having to stay home the week after chemo since I went to school two hours away. Thankfully my wonderful professors at Tiffin University were very helpful and gave me some leeway on assignment dates but I still had to complete the work. I felt very guilty when I felt like all I could do was sleep instead of doing homework, but I realized that it was the best thing for me. I had to push myself to get a lot more done on the days that I was feeling good to make up for the down days. My parents sacrificed a lot for me during this time, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lymphoma Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Jasimine’s Fight Like a Girl Story (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma)

by 4 Comments
Jun
20
2011
Jasimine's Story (Hodgkin's Lymphoma) LR

Hi my name is Jasimine and I am 16. I am a Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor. I found out I had cancer in Feb of 08. I went through 9 rounds of chemo in 9 months on 3 different regiments. After the chemo they told me and my mom that the chemo had not worked, so they said I needed a stem cell transplant. So I went to Oklahoma City and I was there for almost a month before they did the stem cell harvest. After a week they admitted me to the hospital and I did 3 full days of chemo. Then they did the transplant. I was in the hospital a total of 3 weeks and 1 day. I was supposed to be there for 4 to 6 months. so we went back to the doctor and they told me I needed to do radiation. I did radiation for 3 weeks every day after school. So now I am doing better. And living almost normal. Jasimine Oklahoma Submitted 4-5-11 The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lymphoma Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hate Needles?

by 4 Comments
Jun
10
2011
emla

emla is something I only heard about fairly recently, but I so wish I knew about it when I was going through chemo and having to have lots of needles. emla is a cream that is a local anaesthetic that has been successfully used in UK for 25 years. The cream is available in a ‘all-in-one’ pack from your local pharmacy to help numb the pain of the needle during child vaccinations, minor skin procedures, blood donation and travel vaccinations, and in my case: chemo. Luckily, we never had a problem taking our little one for his injections. He just tended to sit there and watch while the nurse jabbed him. In fact, it was only his 8 week injections that he cried for. He’s hard, obviously, and much braver than me! While I’ve always been OK with having blood tests done, having a needle in your forearm for chemo is totally different, and towards the end of my treatments, it became quite painful. It’s not that I’m scared of needles, it’s just that the pain wasn’t very … [Read more...]

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Coping with Hair Loss during Chemotherapy

by 5 Comments
Oct
22
2010
Losing One's Hair

After being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, one of the most difficult things after hearing that I had cancer was being told I would lose my hair during treatment. I know it’s vain – hair doesn’t really matter, but looking healthy is something I’d taken for granted. When the time came, my hair didn’t fall out in clumps like I’d expected. Rather, it just thinned a little more every day until I started to have small patches of missing hair. After a few more days, I couldn’t take the shedding anymore and decided to shave it off. My family was very supportive and decided they would shave their hair with me. Even my mother! So there we were, the bald family. It really did help with my self-esteem. We all looked the same at that point, and it helped me get used to the idea. By the time their hair starting growing and my head stayed bald, I’d reached acceptance. I was dead-set against wearing a wig. I thought it seemed like I was pretending to be normal, not to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lymphoma (Non-Hodgkin's) Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Diane’s Fight Like A Girl Story (Kidney, Breast, and Ovarian Cancer)

by 16 Comments
Oct
19
2010
Diane's Story (Kidney, Breast, Ovarian Cancer)

At age 45, I have battled cancer 4 times. My story with cancer began when I was 17 years old after a trip to the ER because I had the worst tummy ache of my life.  I had to be put through numerous tests that showed something I would later learn was known as a childhood form of a kidney cancer called a Wilm’s Tumor. I thought I was only going into surgery to have my kidney removed because it wasn’t working anymore without knowing why that had happened. After coming out of intensive care, one day in my room when I was alone, I asked a nurse if they found out what was wrong with my kidney - only to be told that I had cancer. She asked me if anybody had told me? I said NO! It didn’t really sink in that "I HAD CANCER" until I was being taken directly from that hospital to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where I lived at the time, to begin chemo. It was then that I realized it was indeed for real! It was very hard to go through as a teen, losing my hair, feeling so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Breast Cancer Stories, Kidney Cancer Stories, Ovarian Cancer Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Amey’s Story (Pancreatic Cancer)

by 1 Comment
Oct
11
2010
Purple Pancreatic Cancer Ribbon

I was a nurse for almost 20 years. In August 2004 while sitting in church I developed excruciating stomach pain. I was taken to our local hospital where they it was discovered I had idiopatic pancreatitis. From August 2004-July 2007, I had multiple surgeries and 32 hospital stays, the longest being 47 days. However, in all this time, no one could find the reason I kept developing this condition. I was sent to Medical University in Charleston, SC for stents to see if it would help but on my 6 week follow up it was discovered the stent had damaged the pancreatic duct and I would require surgery to repair. God sent a miracle that day for as I was in the operating room the dr discovered my problem; PANCREATIC CANCER. He removed my spleen and 1/2 of pancreas on this day, and within 2 weeks I was being sent back home to Georgia for my chemo and follow up care. There were days I was so sick, I felt like it was time to give up! But I made up my mind that I was NOT A QUITTER, God … [Read more...]

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Stacy’s Story (Breast Cancer)

by 1 Comment
Oct
11
2010
Stacy (Breast Cancer)

Hi my name is Stacy Scott and I am 38 years old and was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer in December 2009. The margins were not clear so the vascular surgeon recommended chemotherapy first. I was doing a monthly exam and I felt a lump in my right breast about the size of a dime. I was also having pain in my chest area before I discovered the lump. The doctors that I went to sent me for an EKG and I found out that I did not have heart trouble. I went to my OBGYN doctor and had my annual mammogram and told him about the bump I found in my breast and I also told him about the pain I had been having in my chest. He found suspicious areas in my right breast and sent me to a facility for more thorough diagnostic testing. Well the lab techs at the facility said "I don't see what the doctor is having such a fit about". They told me that it was just a benign cyst in my right breast and to come back in 6 months because they saw an area in … [Read more...]

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Member Spotlight: Meet Michelle

by 3 Comments
Sep
10
2010
fight like a girl club member spotlight

September was the month I was diagnosed with cancer. I had awakened with terrible abdominal pain in my stomach and took myself into emergency.  As soon as I arrived I was admitted.  They ran many tests and came in to tell me that I had a large abdominal mass and it needed to be removed as soon as possible.  The next day I was scheduled for surgery. After 9 1/2 hours, they came out to tell my mom that they had removed a 7 1/2 pound tumor that had spread to both ovaries and to the large intestine.  My mom told me that they told her to go home and start making funeral arrangements - that I would be gone within 3 months.  When I awoke, my family was all around my bedside and a docter was there to give me the news.  At that point I couldn't say anything and, when my family went home, I cried hard.  The doctors told me that we could try chemo - it would have to be very aggressive - and it could cure me or it could kill me.  My thoughts were 'what do I have to lose?' I took a very … [Read more...]

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