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Lori
After a 20+ year career in the broadcast advertising industry, I decided to
take a break for a year to decide what I wanted to be 'when I grew up.'
On April 15, 1997--one year later nearly to the day -- I was diagnosed with
breast cancer. And not just any breast cancer, but inflammatory breast
cancer.
I was 43 years old, married, with a 6-year-old son. Even though I had no
desire to be an inspiration to anyone, I also had no desire to wear a wig,
so, for a year I walked around bald, losing my hair twice.
I may or may not have ended up being an inspiration to others as a result, but I certainly
was an inspiration to myself: every time I saw myself in the mirror, my bald
head reminded me how brave and strong I was. Especially when I didn't feel
that way.
Nine months of treatment included 4 rounds of standard chemo (FAC), a
modified radical mastectomy (4 nodes positive out of 9), high dose chemo
with stem cell rescue, and 36 radiation treatments.
Over five years later, I'm NED (no evidence of disease) with my fingers permanently crossed. My hair grew back (curly at first, but now I'm back to paying for my curls again);
my breast didn't, but I can live with that.
I became a professional speaker
and a cancer coach, two things I love to do. I don't think I would have
chosen those professions (or even thought of them) had I not had a cancer
experience.
Don't get me wrong: if I were given the ability to change anything in my
life, top on my list would be that I would have never had cancer. Since
that's not an option, then I'm thankful that I can see some of the gifts
that came with ibc.
The best to you on your journey.
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