Into Pink

If I am asked what my favorite color is I would automatically say pink. I love the color. It's fresh, girly and fun. And it is very complimentary to my complexion. However, pink became more than a fashion color to me when in the autumn of 2006 my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer was new to our family as no one on either side of our family had ever gotten it. We were more concerned with heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer's. When Judy received her diagnosis she was in shock, of course, but had a great attitude and with the love and support of her family she began her treatment. She had a lumpectomy and then began her chemotherapy for several weeks followed by radiation treatment. Those were tough times for her as she tried to maintained her regular routine of working and her other responsibilities to her family while her body was being slowly poisoned with the chemo. She was nauseous constantly and extremely tired and her bones hurt as the shot she was given the day after her chemo treatments felt like the marrow was being pushed out of her bones. Finally, the day arrived when all of her scans came back clear and the doctors felt they had gotten all the cancer. That was the summer of 2007. I had planned a trip out to see her in October. When I arrived in Las Vegas, her hair had grown out enough to be considered a "short do." She looked good and we were so grateful to have some "sister time" together. We went and saw Mamma Mia at the Mandalay Bay and went boating out on Lake Mead. We lunched and shopped and just enjoyed each other's company. Within a short period of time after I had returned home she called me and told me that a follow-up scan had shown a very small dot on her breast again, but the doctors said it was too small to determine exactly what it was and she would have to wait for a couple of months before another scan could be done. Personally, I was very upset that she would have to wait. She just had cancer and another spot shows up and she was told she would have to let precious time go by before they could tell anything. My sister trusted her doctors and therefore I trusted her, but I was very uneasy and worried. When she went back to her doctor in January 2008 and had the second scan, it turned out she had stage 4 cancer and it had spread to her bones and liver. We all were devastated and felt furious that nothing had been done for her and the two months she spent waiting were wasted. She stood by her doctors and defended them at every turn. Judy knew she was facing her biggest battle ever and began another round of treatment. She went on to have two or three additional types of treatment and each time the scan would show the cancer had not been stopped and continued to spread throughout her body. After her last failed treatment, Judy made an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. I remember her calling me after she saw the doctors at Mayo and she was very incoherent. She was so ill and of course was on many pain medications. All I can remember her saying to me is "not good" and silence. Judy returned home to her family and I flew out the same day she arrived back in Las Vegas. Judy died five days later on June 22, 2008. My precious younger sister was gone. I still mourn for her every day and miss her so much. During the time that Judy was battling cancer, I had a very good friend at work who was there for me to listen and sympathize with and knew what I was experiencing. She understood breast cancer all to well as her mother, grandmother and great grandmother had died from the disease. She was such a help to me and I so appreciated her kind words and support. Fast forward to now and my friend, Alicia, has been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, a less common form of breast cancer that is very aggressive. I cried so much when she told me and now my thoughts turn to her. Alicia is such a fun person and good friend and now I stand beside her ready to help her and support her as much as I can. She has a long road ahead of her and I will be there with her every step of the way. I confess that life is not fair and sometimes just plain sucks. But we have to take the bad with the good and I feel so blessed to have had these two women in my life - my sweet younger sister Judy and my fun friend and "older sister (inside joke)" Alicia. The battle of cancer is an ongoing occurrence in the lives of women and men all over the world. The Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon is pink and they couldn't have picked a better color. I wear it proudly and pray each day that a cure will be found soon for this insidious disease.