CONVERSATIONS OF COURAGE AND
INSPIRATION FROM THOSE WITH CANCER BUT MUST CONTINUE TO WORK.
What has this topic got to do at a conference of technology, travel, meetings
and incentives professionals. I will tell you. You will never know much about
the people you are meeting at these conferences if you just sit down in a
darkened meeting room watching powerpoint presentations. Last year, I was
sitting down with a woman and as the lights went on, she dropped a bottle of
medication that rolled to my feet. I picked it up and saw that it was the same
medication I took a few months back. “Do you have cancer?”, I asked. Tears
welled in her eyes “Yes.”
That was the beginning of a close friendship. Myself, a survivor and she,
terrified and frightened, got hope form the fact that I did not look like I ever
had cancer at all. Since then, this talented woman had worked with me on several
projects.
In 2003 I was diagnosed with cancer Stage 1-B, not a big deal, the doctor said –
we will be able to get all of it. Surgery was quick, 38 lymph nodes taken – all
negative. No radiation or chemotherapy needed. I got on with my Life – plunged
into many exciting activities – but always, I was aware of the disease and
wondered how many women I was meeting had the same thing.
Then came June 2005. A huge mass was found near my kidney. Malignant. My
oncologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center encouraged me to get a second
opinion at Johns Hopkins and Vince Lombardy Institute of Cancer. They were grim.
The cancer has metastasized. Questioned my survival and shook my supreme
confidence that I would beat the cancer.
The plan was quickly finalized – immediate major surgery followed by radiation and
chemotherapy. Side effects were abysmal - nausea, diarrhea, extreme fatigue,
bladder problems. I might lose my hair. The worrying caused a bleeding ulcer
which added to the suffering. 5 times a week my supportive family alternately
drove me to radiation and chemo 57 miles away from our home and cooked dinner
for my husband and myself. Bu the time I got back, I was too exhausted to do
anything. On Saturdays and Sundays, I am able to work a few hours.
I cancelled all discretionary activities. But I had a meeting in Greece for
which I am primarily responsible. Contracts have been signed, penalties
specified. Cancellation was no longer an option. Working a few hours each week
is not going to do it. I had always been a pretty independent person. I always
felt I could do anything. Not this time. It took a lot of courage and chutzpah –
but I finally got out a few letters to a few friends “I need all the help I can
get. I need you.” I was amazed at the speed the answers came back. “Of course!
Tell me what I have to do and I will give it priority”
I am not out of the woods. But I feel much better now that there
are so many people I can lean on.
Since then, I have talked with more women who had written me. They also had
cancer and they also needed to work. Can we get together and talk about the
challenges and how we can help each other? Absolutely! There is nothing I would
like better to do.
We will invite some experts – some of the caring doctors, nurses and case
coordinators who have helped me through the ordeal are interested in joining us.
If you know of anyone else who would like to come, they are all welcome.
Bottomline: We are all human. We have our burdens and our struggles. They become
easier if they can be shared. The bonds that result from this are very strong,
indeed. In the process, we can help each other with the work we do.
If you are a new patient, cancer survivor , caregiver or know someone who has
had this terrible disease – a relative, a loved one, a friend, you are invited
to join this conversation.
