Cancer Sucks, Part I
Cancer Sucks, Part II
It has been a pretty rough week. Last weekend I found out my sister's mother-in-law has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Her father-in-law almost died of cancer 10 years ago, it is a miracle he lived, but today you'd have no idea he ever had cancer. Hopefully Marilyn's story turns out the same way. I also found out yesterday a childhood friend's mom has uterine cancer. It is stage 2, so maybe she will be ok as well.
Yesterday I also went to Stephanie's "celebration of life." It was awesome - if that can possibly be said about a funeral. Yet again I am amazed at the courage she showed through the very end and the courage her husband Greg has shown and continues to show. He spoke yesterday at the service and he was amazing. He started by saying he never understood how Lou Gehrig stood up and said he was the luckiest man alive when he was leaving the MLB. Then he spoke of Stephanie and what she was doing in heaven, and how she finally got to meet his mother, how wonderful of a mother, wife, friend, etc she was, what a great role model she was. Then he ended by saying he now knew how Lou Gehrig could say that because he also, can now honestly say he is the luckiest man alive. Stephanie had a big hand in planning the service before she died and it was very obvious. You could see her footprints throughout. She put together a tribute with "rules to live by" that was put together as part of a slide show with many family pictures. She also told her friends not to wear black and that she wanted it to be a casual affair. The message that her favorite color was pink made it through the vines, and many, many people showed up wearing pink. It was beautiful. I want everyone to wear pink, not black, to my funeral as well...if any of you happen to be around when that happens. Greg also put together a tribute slide show/video for her, to the music of "You are so beautiful." Wow. "Live Like You Were Dying" played as the family followed the casket out of the church. Ugh. I already have never been able to listen to that song the same after "The Steph" (the nickname given to the triathlon in her name) last year, but now it even has even more memories attached to it. Greg and Stephanie truly did teach others how to live like you were dying, all the time with the utmost grace, humility, and courage.
I'm sick of cancer. Plain and simple. And I don't even have it. Stephanie is one more person I've had to move from my "racing in honor of" list to my "racing in memory of" list. No more! The two people above also mean two more people on my "racing in honor of" list. Gees. No more there either. So far I have been pretty fortunate as well because none of my immediate family members have had cancer. Watching my aunt die from melanoma was bad enough, as was watching some of my best friends' parents die. My mom has lost her dad and sister to cancer. My sister's husband almost lost his dad and now has to deal with his mom having cancer. How long will I stay this lucky? I almost feel guilty that I haven't been hit harder by cancer.
Cancer Sucks, Part II
It has been a pretty rough week. Last weekend I found out my sister's mother-in-law has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Her father-in-law almost died of cancer 10 years ago, it is a miracle he lived, but today you'd have no idea he ever had cancer. Hopefully Marilyn's story turns out the same way. I also found out yesterday a childhood friend's mom has uterine cancer. It is stage 2, so maybe she will be ok as well.
Yesterday I also went to Stephanie's "celebration of life." It was awesome - if that can possibly be said about a funeral. Yet again I am amazed at the courage she showed through the very end and the courage her husband Greg has shown and continues to show. He spoke yesterday at the service and he was amazing. He started by saying he never understood how Lou Gehrig stood up and said he was the luckiest man alive when he was leaving the MLB. Then he spoke of Stephanie and what she was doing in heaven, and how she finally got to meet his mother, how wonderful of a mother, wife, friend, etc she was, what a great role model she was. Then he ended by saying he now knew how Lou Gehrig could say that because he also, can now honestly say he is the luckiest man alive. Stephanie had a big hand in planning the service before she died and it was very obvious. You could see her footprints throughout. She put together a tribute with "rules to live by" that was put together as part of a slide show with many family pictures. She also told her friends not to wear black and that she wanted it to be a casual affair. The message that her favorite color was pink made it through the vines, and many, many people showed up wearing pink. It was beautiful. I want everyone to wear pink, not black, to my funeral as well...if any of you happen to be around when that happens. Greg also put together a tribute slide show/video for her, to the music of "You are so beautiful." Wow. "Live Like You Were Dying" played as the family followed the casket out of the church. Ugh. I already have never been able to listen to that song the same after "The Steph" (the nickname given to the triathlon in her name) last year, but now it even has even more memories attached to it. Greg and Stephanie truly did teach others how to live like you were dying, all the time with the utmost grace, humility, and courage.
I'm sick of cancer. Plain and simple. And I don't even have it. Stephanie is one more person I've had to move from my "racing in honor of" list to my "racing in memory of" list. No more! The two people above also mean two more people on my "racing in honor of" list. Gees. No more there either. So far I have been pretty fortunate as well because none of my immediate family members have had cancer. Watching my aunt die from melanoma was bad enough, as was watching some of my best friends' parents die. My mom has lost her dad and sister to cancer. My sister's husband almost lost his dad and now has to deal with his mom having cancer. How long will I stay this lucky? I almost feel guilty that I haven't been hit harder by cancer.
Comments
You can contact the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 713-680-8088 and be put in contact with someone from the First Contact program for your relative's mother. They have fantastic program that links the family with a Leukemia or Lymphoma patient or survivor to answer any questions they may have about what treatment is like and what to expect. The Society also suports patients with grants of money to cover expenses that insurance will not cover such as parking fees, travel expenses such as gas, and proceedures that the insurance companies deem unnecessary.
You can also get involved to make a difference by joining Team in Training. 0.75 cents of every dollar we raise goes to fund 16 research doctors here in Houston at the Texas Medical Center as they work on finding a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma. I can put you in contact with two of those research doctors who are personal friends of mine who will tell you about how hard it is to get grant and research money from the government and how much they rely on everyday people like you who want to make a difference in the life of a cancer patient to bring new drugs and treatment protocals to fruition.
Cancer does SUCK and I am out there every day when I run with my green and purple on to keep putting the message in front of people that they can join my TEAM and make a difference.
Liz