Lofty dreams do come true

Written in September 2022

I am so grateful for all of the many emails, cards, text messages, DMs, etc that have come through to me over the last two weeks. Y’all never let me down or let me feel alone in this world.

If you didn’t catch my “stories” update last week let me inform you that I am feeling SO much better. I started the new meds almost 3 weeks ago and about a week ago I was able to stop taking pain relievers and fever reducers around the clock. My bones are not hurting (with the exception of my hips, but that’s minimal) and my fevers are gone completely. My oncologist didn’t think that I would start to feel relief until cycle 2, but I felt it in cycle 1. HOORAY!

I start my second cycle of Xeloda next week. The side effects have been very minimal so far, but some of them, like hand food syndrome, are cumulative so I still need to be diligent on my preventative care and keep an eye on things.

I was just in Boston this last week for my liver biopsy (results coming next week), blood work, and normal oncology check-ins. The biopsy went well and it was a lot less painful than I thought it might be. Blood work is trending in the right direction with tumor markers stable, red blood and hemoglobin up (no blood transfusion needed this time), and liver enzymes elevated but not terrible.

In two weeks I will be back in Boston for a VERY quick trip to check-in with blood work and oncology, plus I will be walking again in the Runway 4 Recovery show. I am very excited. This morning I picked out my runway outfit and I cannot wait to reveal it while dancing down the runway.

If you remember last year I fundraised for them and walked in my first runway show. I had a blast. In the past Runway only funded families that had lost a mother/caregiver to MBC, a much needed and wonderful mission. This year Runway added to that and started granting funds for women (with families) thriving and living with MBC. I am one of those women that has been honored with a grant and I am in AWE of how generous and amazing Runway has been not only with the financial part in the form of this grant, but with their time, energy, support, and love.

Cancer is really freaking expensive, even if you plan well. We planned ahead for what we thought would be three trips back to Boston for my treatments, and now I am facing probably six trips minimum. Two of those trips have been last minute and plane tickets/hotels are really expensive. Runway’s grant has taken this extra financial hurdle off my plate.

Women with MBC shouldn’t have to compromise their hopes and dreams because cancer steps in and messes life up. Andrew and I have dreamed about living abroad our whole lives together and cancer came in and attempted to blow the whole thing up. My oncologist actually asked me to come home. I told her I wouldn’t and I’d figure out how to make it work for me to come back as often as she needed me to. Thanks to Runway’s grant I can focus on my treatment, my children, making our experience abroad exactly what we dreamed (sort of). The stress around the financial burden cancer throws at our family is draining emotionally. Now I breathe a little easier.

Grants can look like different things for different families, and for my family it looks like this. I will forever be grateful to Olivia and the board at Runway for seeing our lofty vision of living abroad, knowing we are trying really hard to do everything right, and understanding that cancer can mess all of that up in a second.

Here is “my video” that will air at Runway. Take care and keep living intentionally!