I realized today... that some of you may not be aware of some family history that I loosely reference. I thought a post to bring those of you up to speed may be helpful.
I have the unfortunate honor of being a 3rd generation with breast cancer. My maternal grandmother had breast cancer ... twice, still living. My mother had breast cancer ... twice, and lost her second battle. My paternal aunt had breast cancer, still living. My maternal uncle is currently battling cancer. My maternal grandfather died of cancer. Seriously... go away cancer!
I have always been thankful that when my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 1993, I was home for the summer from college. That summer I was scheduled to work with her in her office as an intern. Sadly, we never got much working together ... as she was on medical leave the time I was home. She was aggressive in her approach and decided to have a bilateral mastectomy, even though the cancer was only in one of her breasts. She wanted to be aggressive in her treatment. I always admired the way she handled that diagnosis. She also wasn't afraid to be herself during her chemo treatment and proudly rocked the bald look. I get that part of my strength from my mom, she didn't care what people thought. She was who she was, and if that made you uncomfortable, then that was your problem. Other forms of strength come from my dad ... they are both very amazing people to be inspired by =)
The summer of 2011, my mom's cancer came back. She'd been cancer free for 18 years, but this time it came back more advanced. Again, her approach to treatment was to go aggressive. She too worked through her chemo and radiation treatments. Even ended up in the hospital a few times along the way ... because she'd pushed herself to much. One thing that was different this time was her mental attitude. In 1993, I never saw her fear ... this time I did. I don't know if it was a change in her, or me being 18 years older, but she while she was taking the treatment as aggressive as possible ... she also had a sense of appreciating each day and the little things in life. For a woman who never slowed down, I saw her slow ... and take time to smell the flowers. She spent the summer of 2012 moving into a new home in Belfast, Maine and spent as much time as her schedule allowed out on the ocean sailing with her boyfriend Dick. In September, after a sailing trip along the Maine islands, my mom went to back to her hometown of Charleston, WV for her 50th High School reunion. She'd talked about this event the entire summer. I went to visit her and my brother in Vermont over Labor Day weekend and little did I know at the time, that would be the last time I'd see her conscious. After her multi-day 50th High School reunion, she was feeling shortness of breath and went to the ER. They admitted her, then found problems with her heart, and a couple days later ... I lost my mom September 15, 2012. Her heart failed ... basically stopped working. No history or family history of heart problems. They assumed the chemo had destroyed her heart, and inevitably taken her life. I will always be thankful that I was able to be there for her in the end. I know she knew we were there.
In this round of chemo, I am receiving 2 drugs every three weeks. One of those drugs has a history of causing heart damage. Thankfully my father is a retired thoracic surgeon and has put my (and his) mind at ease talking with my clinical team about my treatment and the heart risk. Somehow the cancer isn't what scares me, nor the chemo...it's the heart risk associated with the chemo. What am I doing to help reduce the risk? Exercise! They don't know why it helps ... they just know it does. That's all I need to help conquer this fear. Not to mention, Heather and I were both in need of some healthier living and we do need to fit into our wedding dresses by August 16th. =)
For anyone reading this that knew my mom, you also know how similar we were. Hard headed, stubborn, focused, dedicated, passionate ... those similarities were what kept us close and also created distance between us. While I will never forgive her for not telling me she was in the hospital in WV, and that I was her medical power of attorney, I will also forever regret not be able to tell her how much I loved her, admired her, and to admit how similar we were. I'll never forget a conversation we had one day... when she was talking about how she was disappointed that I hadn't ever wanted to be a doctor (like her and my dad), but that while I was a computer geek, medicine was in my blood ... and there was a reason I worked in the Healthcare IT industry. You know, I'm not sure I ever admitted to her how cool and awesome that observation was ... let alone how spot-on she was in that observation. Even in my new job, working with a software business for workforce management, which focuses on improving nurse efficiency and drive improved clinical outcomes. Some days I daydream about my Saturdays sitting at the nurse station of the ICU, while my dad was doing rounds. Or visiting my mom at the Family Practice clinic. Medicine is in my blood and I can't ever soak up enough information about this industry. Yes, I love to see GE equipment when I'm going through diagnosis and treatment. Thing is, I genuinely love this industry and work for the company I do because I truly believe we make a difference in improving people's lives. For example, I have completed one round of genetic testing (BRCA) and will shortly get tested for a broader panel of known genetic mutations for breast cancer. This panel of ~15 tests only accounts for 20% of known genetic mutations tied to breast cancer today. In time, we will learn more about these relationships and if one of these next round of tests comes back positive for me ... that would help explain why I'm the 3rd generation to get breast cancer, and also explain why my BRCA was negative. Personalized medicine is real ... it's the future ... and just like I admire the work GE does with medical devices, I also think about my personal situation and associate it with the work our Life Sciences business does around personalized medicine. I love being a sponge about the healthcare industry ... where it's going, where we've been, and am fortunate to say I work for a company that of making a difference. My mom was right, I didn't need to be an MD to make a difference in this industry, and indeed medicine is in my blood.
I miss you daily mom ... and as I go through this journey, think about you constantly.
I have the unfortunate honor of being a 3rd generation with breast cancer. My maternal grandmother had breast cancer ... twice, still living. My mother had breast cancer ... twice, and lost her second battle. My paternal aunt had breast cancer, still living. My maternal uncle is currently battling cancer. My maternal grandfather died of cancer. Seriously... go away cancer!
I have always been thankful that when my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 1993, I was home for the summer from college. That summer I was scheduled to work with her in her office as an intern. Sadly, we never got much working together ... as she was on medical leave the time I was home. She was aggressive in her approach and decided to have a bilateral mastectomy, even though the cancer was only in one of her breasts. She wanted to be aggressive in her treatment. I always admired the way she handled that diagnosis. She also wasn't afraid to be herself during her chemo treatment and proudly rocked the bald look. I get that part of my strength from my mom, she didn't care what people thought. She was who she was, and if that made you uncomfortable, then that was your problem. Other forms of strength come from my dad ... they are both very amazing people to be inspired by =)
The summer of 2011, my mom's cancer came back. She'd been cancer free for 18 years, but this time it came back more advanced. Again, her approach to treatment was to go aggressive. She too worked through her chemo and radiation treatments. Even ended up in the hospital a few times along the way ... because she'd pushed herself to much. One thing that was different this time was her mental attitude. In 1993, I never saw her fear ... this time I did. I don't know if it was a change in her, or me being 18 years older, but she while she was taking the treatment as aggressive as possible ... she also had a sense of appreciating each day and the little things in life. For a woman who never slowed down, I saw her slow ... and take time to smell the flowers. She spent the summer of 2012 moving into a new home in Belfast, Maine and spent as much time as her schedule allowed out on the ocean sailing with her boyfriend Dick. In September, after a sailing trip along the Maine islands, my mom went to back to her hometown of Charleston, WV for her 50th High School reunion. She'd talked about this event the entire summer. I went to visit her and my brother in Vermont over Labor Day weekend and little did I know at the time, that would be the last time I'd see her conscious. After her multi-day 50th High School reunion, she was feeling shortness of breath and went to the ER. They admitted her, then found problems with her heart, and a couple days later ... I lost my mom September 15, 2012. Her heart failed ... basically stopped working. No history or family history of heart problems. They assumed the chemo had destroyed her heart, and inevitably taken her life. I will always be thankful that I was able to be there for her in the end. I know she knew we were there.
In this round of chemo, I am receiving 2 drugs every three weeks. One of those drugs has a history of causing heart damage. Thankfully my father is a retired thoracic surgeon and has put my (and his) mind at ease talking with my clinical team about my treatment and the heart risk. Somehow the cancer isn't what scares me, nor the chemo...it's the heart risk associated with the chemo. What am I doing to help reduce the risk? Exercise! They don't know why it helps ... they just know it does. That's all I need to help conquer this fear. Not to mention, Heather and I were both in need of some healthier living and we do need to fit into our wedding dresses by August 16th. =)
For anyone reading this that knew my mom, you also know how similar we were. Hard headed, stubborn, focused, dedicated, passionate ... those similarities were what kept us close and also created distance between us. While I will never forgive her for not telling me she was in the hospital in WV, and that I was her medical power of attorney, I will also forever regret not be able to tell her how much I loved her, admired her, and to admit how similar we were. I'll never forget a conversation we had one day... when she was talking about how she was disappointed that I hadn't ever wanted to be a doctor (like her and my dad), but that while I was a computer geek, medicine was in my blood ... and there was a reason I worked in the Healthcare IT industry. You know, I'm not sure I ever admitted to her how cool and awesome that observation was ... let alone how spot-on she was in that observation. Even in my new job, working with a software business for workforce management, which focuses on improving nurse efficiency and drive improved clinical outcomes. Some days I daydream about my Saturdays sitting at the nurse station of the ICU, while my dad was doing rounds. Or visiting my mom at the Family Practice clinic. Medicine is in my blood and I can't ever soak up enough information about this industry. Yes, I love to see GE equipment when I'm going through diagnosis and treatment. Thing is, I genuinely love this industry and work for the company I do because I truly believe we make a difference in improving people's lives. For example, I have completed one round of genetic testing (BRCA) and will shortly get tested for a broader panel of known genetic mutations for breast cancer. This panel of ~15 tests only accounts for 20% of known genetic mutations tied to breast cancer today. In time, we will learn more about these relationships and if one of these next round of tests comes back positive for me ... that would help explain why I'm the 3rd generation to get breast cancer, and also explain why my BRCA was negative. Personalized medicine is real ... it's the future ... and just like I admire the work GE does with medical devices, I also think about my personal situation and associate it with the work our Life Sciences business does around personalized medicine. I love being a sponge about the healthcare industry ... where it's going, where we've been, and am fortunate to say I work for a company that of making a difference. My mom was right, I didn't need to be an MD to make a difference in this industry, and indeed medicine is in my blood.
I miss you daily mom ... and as I go through this journey, think about you constantly.