Life with Cancer Part II

My wife had gone through her radiation treatments and was now doing well. We had survived breast cancer. Donna was now among the many breast cancer survivors. I was planning on running in the Susan G. Komen Race for Cure in honor of her survival. Then one evening in March of 2008 my mother called and said she had something to tell us. She too had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now I was running for two women in my life.

My mother's cancer was different than Donna's which made her not eligible for the radiation treatment Donna had participated in. Also because of the position of my mother's tumor a lumpectomy without radiation was not an option. My mother opted for a mastectomy.

In April she had the operation all went well. She wasn't going to need radiation her recovery was more painful than Donna's but still all went well.

My mother did have the benefit of Donna for support having been through the fear and anxiety associated with news that you have cancer. Again the whole family gathered around my mother to support her. Today my mother is a survivor and I will run again this year in The Race for The Cure for two of the most important women in my life.

As a side note: The local paper did a story on my run in 2008. They had called looking for stories of runners participating in the Race for The Cure. When I told them my story they were interested. They ran the story of our experiences in the Breast Cancer world just prior to the 2008 race.