She's One in a Million.

Hermosa Beach, California---Looking at her you would never know. You would think she was cutting-edge with a super short blond hair cut. Something that movie stars often unveil and then magazines feature.

She was on a stationary bike facing the ocean,  

 
 
 
 
 

 
peddling hard as a part of 199 other bikes and 600 bicyclists in the three waves of participants on the Pier and as a part of a massive fundraiser called "Tour de Pier".

She blended among the other athletes. But the truth is she has lived a year of what many of us fear. Cancer.  But not just any cancer. Not the kind you have a yearly test for or watch out for because it runs in your family. No, this was the out-of-the-blue, no warning and really no reason to even detect.

She had NO family history of cancer.

She did however have a feeling that something was wrong. A haunting deep voice that told her she needed to be diligent and be her own advocate. This led her to have an elective laparoscopic hysterectomy January 2012. The frightening blur of time that followed a successful surgery unveiled that a tiny tumor had been found in her uterus. Leiomyosarcoma.  A one in a million sarcoma which can occur in any part of the body.

She asked “Why?”

The doctor answered “Unlucky.”

Unlucky? Yes and no. To have this happen: Unlucky. But how can she really explain why she got to this point, to ask for a surgery that was just on a hunch. To go through another surgery to find out that this rare and aggressive cancer had not spread. And then to find the “C” word was at stage 1b: Lucky.
But the long journey from discover to treatment to recover to living with the idea of reoccurrence…she sums it up by saying “I’m not a cancer survivor, I’m a cancer thriver.”

Yes, her long, beautiful blond hair fell out. Her eyebrows, eyelashes…all the fury that Chemo does to a body, she faced. But she also found a place to fight back and slowly work her body back on its way of getting in shape.  Then finally she was able to start swimming again, something she had mastered through and after college.

Emotionally no one knows how they will react until it actually happens to them. She shared things she learned with me.  As one of the first in her peer group and family to be affected by cancer, she researched and studied all aspects of her condition. A self-taught sarcoma fact finder. She writes on her FaceBook Page; “There are 10,000 diagnosis of sarcomas annually and sixty different types that are equally rare and different.”

Of this only 300 are her type. And of this, the amount of them that are detected at only stage 1b is not even documented.  I do not use the word “only” lightly because it’s still a frightening aggressive cancer.

She learned that people react in many, many different ways. Some were surprisingly selfish and hurtful, some uplifting and honest. Many people just don’t know how to act so avoiding seems to be their way out. In my opinion and life experiences, fear keeps you from experiencing an honest life. And sometime it really does not matter exactly WHAT you say but that you show up. Actually show up, in person with a hug or a big basket of junk food to sit and talk and mostly listen.

Circle of friends

A caring husband and her close knit circle of friends that meet on the beach, a short bike ride from their stylish home, to play beach volleyball and then form a circle sitting in the sand and just banter back and forth with conversations that range from politics to restaurants were a backbone to her support. There was also the brand new friends she met and developed unplanned bonds with were other cancer patients that were a constant reminders that others were going through it or, she shared with a crack in her voice,…just kids.

It was the first year for Tour de Pier and she helped raise $330,696 that goes four-ways to The Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research (pancreatic.org), The LiveSTRONG Foundation (livestrong.org), Cancer Support Community (cancersupportredondobeach.org) and The Friendship Circle of the South Bay (gotfriends.com).

In her own words she writes; “I have my moments and when I pause to reflect on the roller coaster ride year, I am still shaken however I am grateful to be alive. What I know for sure is that every day is a gift and the "best days" are NOW.

She might have the odds of being one in a million, but she has the attitude of being ONE in a million.

Hats helped her get through the no hair stages