The Breast Cancer Journey: Stories of Hope with Action Items for Survival

By Lucinda C. West and Pamela J. Schlembach

This book yearns to be written in. Mark it. Highlight it. Underline key phrases. Write in it. Dog-ear your favorite stories. Draw a picture. Put your name in it. Whatever your comfort level, just do it!

Journaling is good for the soul, with proven mental health and emotional benefits. A yearbook page is provided at the end of each story where you can write about your day, or list questions for your doctors. Yearbooks are memory books. They remind us of meaningful experiences and provide a commentary on our relationships with others.

The contributors in The Breast Cancer Journey have openly shared their personal stories as a means to help others who are going through a similar trial. They have passed on messages of hope and encouragement for support. Simple action items are suggested to provide you with daily motivation, with prompts for your journal. Our desire is for your life to be enriched as you go through this difficult time. As you read and write, you are becoming a coauthor in The Breast Cancer Journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512729924

Lucinda C. West

Lucinda C. West, Ph.D. was diagnosed at the age of 49 with Stage III, triple positive, invasive right breast cancer. She was subsequently treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center located in The Woodlands, Texas. Her treatment included six months of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a modified radical right mastectomy, 33 daily radiation treatments, followed by eventual reconstruction. She is cancer-free. Dr. West earned her Ph.D. from Regent University. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Texas (LMFT-S) and Florida (LMFT), and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida. She serves as Faculty Chair and Program Director for the dually accredited (COAMFTE and CACREP) Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy program at Capella University. She has more than 20 years of experience providing marriage, family, and couples therapy, teaching master’s level MFT and CES doctoral students, in addition to supervising master’s level clinicians for licensure. Dr. West is a Clinical Fellow in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and a professional member of the American Counseling Association (ACA). She has been married to her husband for 30 years. They have two grown children, one grandchild, and a dog. Hobbies include road trips on the Harley Davidson, spending time with the family, and playing with her new grandbaby. In addition she loves to sing, play the keyboard, and watch bluebirds nest in their Texan backyard. Pamela J. Schlembach M.D., is a board certified radiation oncologist and holds an academic appointment as Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas, MD Anderson. Her regional office is conveniently located in The Woodlands, Texas, where she has been serving Montgomery county residents full-time since 2004. Dr. Schlembach received her medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and completed her residency in radiation oncology at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2002 where she joined the faculty. She is a pioneer in the outreach program and is responsible for formulating the first multidisciplinary team for MD Anderson in breast cancer in a community setting. She serves as a community liaison for MD Anderson and speaks at a multitude of educational events and donates countless hours to education and support. She is the medical director of the Gamma Knife program at CHI St. Luke’s Woodlands hospital. She also facilitates “Breast Friends,” the largest breast cancer support and survivorship group in Montgomery County. She has received numerous publications and awards. She has been married for 38 years and has two adult children. She enjoys cooking, biking and entertaining friends and family.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Lucinda C. West and Pamela J. Schlembach.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2993-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2992-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016902052

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/11/2016

Contents

Dedication

Preface

About the Book Editors

Acknowledgements

Introduction: How to Use This Book

1. Cancer Doesn’t Deserve a Song by Cathy Donaldson

2. Can’t Complain by Pamela Schlembach

3. Lavender Sacrifice by Cindy Murray

4. Shock Can Be a Good Thing by Lucinda West

5. Complete Control by Marlene Shurell

6. A Bond Between Mother and Daughter by Tara Latta 

7. Seeds by Rowena Hayes

8. Chemo and Life by Lucinda West

9. 1984 by Patti Wolford

10. It Does Get Better by Janet Cable

11. Support With Love by Sonia Ostrander

12. Camp Song by Vicky Conover

13. Not Pretty in Pink by Rachel Livingston

14. Tender I Love You’s by Noreta Bish

15. One Flesh by Cathy Donaldson

16. Unrealized Angel by April Phillips

17. Fore! By Nana Kay

18. Inward Renewal by Lucinda West

19. Support by Ivy D. Moore

20. The Drive Home by Christine Potter

21. My Big Girl Façade by Cindy Moore

22. A Curse or a Blessing? by Sonia Clayton

23. Laughter is the Best Medicine by Tanya McKelvey

24. Keep on Running by Beverly J. Points

25. Just Like Mommy by Cathy Donaldson

26. This is Temporary by Joy Cabanilla

27. Shave and a Haircut by Lucinda West

28. The New Normal by Cherie Diehl

29. It’s Not About The Hair by Tanya McKelvey

30. transFORMed by Cathy Donaldson

31. An Opponent of Fear by Lucinda West

32. Cancer Free by Heather Farris

33. Bitter or Better? by Gail Mills

34. Battle Bikes and Marathons by Lucinda West

35. Easter Eggs by Cherie Diehl

36. Getting Through It All by Frances Schlueter

37. What We Listen to Matters by Cathy Donaldson

38. My Journey with Chemotherapy by Marshel Kay Brown Shewmake

39. Waiting by Lucinda West

40. Pink Christmas by Noreta Bish

41. Kefir, Kvass, and Kontrol by Cathy Donaldson

42. Why? by Lucinda West

43. Passions In Life by Frances Schlueter

44. Wigs for Fun by Anonymous

45. Fight For My Life by Karen Dion

46. An Unexpected Journey by DeLann Johnson

47. Igor by Lucinda West

48. Retreat by Anonymous

49. Maintenance by Janet Cable

50. Live Every Day! by Pam Criss

51. Positively Radiant by Cathy Donaldson

52. Life After Cancer by Margaret Looper

53. Keeping the Faith in Trying Days by Brenda Putnam

54. Business as Usual? by Lucinda West

55. Hair Loss and a Young Family by Rachel Livingston

56. Grace, Faith, and Hope by Vicky Conover

57. The Things They Don’t Tell You by Lucinda West

58. This Journey Called Hope by Liz Jackson

59. Preconceived Thoughts of Radiation by Tara Latta

60. Surgery Eve by Cathy Donaldson

61. Warding off Dracula by Lucinda West

62. Support Among Us by Tara Latta

63. We Did Everything Together by Barbara Blanton

64. Woohoo! Chemo is DONE!! by Kathy Harkey

65. What Cancer Cannot Do by Lucinda West

66. When Wigs Fly by DeLann Johnson

67. Dental Chair by Michelle Martin

68. It’s the Golden Knight! by Lucinda West

69. Message Of Hope by Frances Schlueter

70. Overcomer by Lucinda West

71. Paper or Plastic? by Lucinda West

72. I Will Walk by Faith by Terri A. Brenon

73. No Pain, No Gain by Lucinda West

74. You Are A Survivor by Margaret Looper

75. Cancer and The Beatles by Frances Schlueter

76. Beautiful Gifts by Cindy Murray

77. A New Plan by Janina Stout

78. Benefits of Bald by Lucinda West

79. Held by Heather Farris

80. Goodness Always Follows a Bad Situation by Rhonda Chenet

81. Authentic Joy by Peggy Strickland

82. The Exclusive Club by Evelyn Goldstein

83. New Life by Gail Mills

84. Never Alone with Cancer by Alice Stone Thomas

85. Faith Benefits The Journey by Marti M. Syring

86. Trust Your Inner Voice by Christine Potter

87. April Fools by Vicki Massaquoi

88. I Fought! I Won! by Joy Cabanilla

89. Ring the Bell! by Lucinda West

90. My Mentor Kathy by Pamela J. Schlembach

Notes

Dedication

60105.png  Lucinda West

My mother always provided me with a spirit of adventure. She encouraged me to never give up, no matter how difficult the journey may seem. She also instilled in me a great love for Jesus. He was her best friend, and she spent the last 30+ years of her life in Christian ministry. When her physicians told her there was nothing more they could do to stop the aggressive melanoma, and she was at the end of life, she responded with a smile on her face: I get to go be with my Jesus. This book is for you, mom.

60115.png  Pamela Schlembach

I dedicate this book to all the wonderful patients, families and Breast Friends members I have met over the years as an oncologist. Your grace, strength and gratitude inspire me daily.

"I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace

because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope."

Romans 15:13 (CEV)

Preface

Sharing your story is therapeutic. Allowing yourself for a few moments to be vulnerable develops character and strength in you. Passing your story on for the sake of helping another builds bridges between you and others. Knowing that you have the capability to influence another’s frame of mind increases confidence for finding solutions to your own situation.

The contributors in this book have openly shared stories from their hearts as a means to help others who are going through a similar trial in the breast cancer journey. They have passed on their stories to you, the reader, anxious to share messages of hope and encouragement. Many privately shared with me that this process of writing down their story and sharing it with you was therapeutic for them. We thank you, our dear reader, for accepting this book and reading it. Our desire is that your life will be enriched as you go through this difficulty journey—that you will experience hope. And we thank you for passing it on as you mentor others who come after you.

A friend who had successfully battled breast cancer passed on a devotional book to me once I had been diagnosed with the same disease¹. She read it from cover to cover while recovering from her double mastectomy. A friend of hers had passed it on to her, and who knows where it started before that. This pink, little 90-day devotional with inspirational messages from women who had battled different types of cancer had made its way to my hands because someone cared enough to mail it to me. The women in this book shared Scripture, words of encouragement, and a prayer. It meant so much to me that my friend had the foresight and initiative to pass it on. I recognized some of the names. Some had lost their battle since writing their piece, while others were still thriving.

On day 45 of the devotional, I realized that my friend, as well as many of the women who wrote their stories, were further along in their journey than I was at that moment. Cancer-free, their battle was over; they were survivors. Even those who lost the battle did not see it as a loss. For to them, to die was a gain (Philippians 1:21). As I read the day’s devotional, titled The Eternal Now, I was energized by the thought that one day I too would be a survivor and cancer-free.

My devotional book was unmarked–good as new. There were no notes in the margins. The binding was in great shape. Nothing was underlined, highlighted, or marked. No name designated its owner. Pages were not dog-eared. I too refrained from underlining or highlighting meaningful thoughts in order to present my future friend with a preserved copy of the book, in the same way my friend did for me. On the day it arrived in the mail, I made a plan to pass it on after I finished. I didn’t know who that would be, and I would let God lead me when the time was right.

Fast-forward one year after my mastectomy. I was attending a support group for breast cancer patients and survivors when Dr. Pamela Schlembach (lovingly called Dr. Pam, the facilitator of the group) gave the night to all the ladies in the room. It was an open microphone to share your personal story of hope to one another. She stressed, We already know the bad. So, tell us what you did to find hope, peace, and strength to help others in this room. One by one, women filed forward to share her story, each as unique as the woman who shared it. We laughed, we cried, and we said aha as we listened to stories of hope and great expectation. I took the little book with me to the front of the room and shared my story with this group of women for the first time (I cried all the way through it). Afterward, I passed on the book to another newly diagnosed woman. Sharing my story and sharing the book was therapeutic for me, as well as many other women in attendance that night.

On the way out as I helped Dr. Pam carry the left over donated cupcakes, I said to her, Wouldn’t it be great if we could put all these stories together into a book? She agreed and liked the idea. Dr. Pam and I wanted to provide other women with the opportunity to experience the same inspirational messages we had witnessed that evening, as well as on other occasions. We had so much to share; the walls could not contain all the messages. We talked more about the great night and decided to get together over lunch to discuss this big adventure of writing a book to help others.

This is how the book The Breast Cancer Journey: Stories of Hope with Actions for Survival came to be. Over a fine lunch and stimulating conversation we pressed forward with a decision to publish a book, and agreed to donate the net proceeds of this project to further cancer research. We couldn’t wait to pass it on!

About the Book Editors

CindyHeadshot.jpg

Lucinda C. West, Ph.D. was diagnosed at the age of 49 with Stage III, triple positive, invasive right breast cancer. She was subsequently treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center located in The Woodlands, Texas. Her treatment included six months of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a modified radical right mastectomy, 33 daily radiation treatments, followed by eventual reconstruction. She is cancer-free.

Dr. West earned her Ph.D. from Regent University. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Texas (LMFT-S) and Florida (LMFT), and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida. She serves as Faculty Chair and Program Director for the dually accredited (COAMFTE and CACREP) Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy program at Capella University. She has more than 20 years of experience providing marriage, family, and couples therapy, teaching master’s level MFT and CES doctoral students, in addition to supervising master’s level clinicians for licensure. Dr. West is a Clinical Fellow in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and a professional member of the American Counseling Association (ACA).

She has been married to her husband for 30 years. They have two grown children, one grandchild, and a dog. Hobbies include road trips on the Harley Davidson, spending time with the family, and playing with her new grandbaby. In addition she loves to sing, play the keyboard, and watch bluebirds nest in their Texan backyard.

Au%20photo%20(Pam).jpg

Pamela J. Schlembach M.D., is a board certified radiation oncologist and holds an academic appointment as Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas, MD Anderson. Her regional office is conveniently located in The Woodlands, Texas, where she has been serving Montgomery county residents full-time since 2004.

Dr. Schlembach received her medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and completed her residency in radiation oncology at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2002 where she joined the faculty. She is a pioneer in the outreach program and is responsible for formulating the first multidisciplinary team for MD Anderson in breast cancer in a community setting. She serves as a community liaison for MD Anderson and speaks at a multitude of educational events and donates countless hours to education and support. She is the medical director of the Gamma Knife program at CHI St. Luke’s Woodlands hospital. She also facilitates Breast Friends, the largest breast cancer support and survivorship group in Montgomery County. She has received numerous publications and awards.

She has been married for 38 years and has two adult children. She enjoys cooking, biking and entertaining friends and family.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I give glory to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, for healing me of breast cancer. Our lives are in His hands and His will. His guidance led me to the wonderful treatment I received at MD Anderson. It is there I met some amazing lifelong friends through whose hands He worked miracles.

In addition, we want to thank the ladies who took time out of their busy schedules and contributed to this book. Revisiting the journey was challenging at times. Their private emails and conversations revealed many tears were shed when writing their stories. Yet they saw the vision for helping others who would suffer a diagnosis of breast cancer in the future. Breast Friends, your atta girl comments encouraged us to hang in there and finish pulling this project together. We could not have done this without you!

My family is my greatest ally and I want to acknowledge their role. When the imposter syndrome snuck in and tried to steal my confidence, they offered counterattacks. West family, I love you all to the moon and back!

We also want to thank the following friends who read and edited stories, provided constructive criticism on how to format the stories more effectively, and gave encouraging comments for completing this project. Jena Mayo, you are my best friend for life, and I owe you for all