Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for
this process, I’ve been able to get a spring back in my step. I didn’t realize how depressed
and sad I was because I never knew I would have a resolution plus having to
endure surgery after surgery. I wasn’t eating right and I wasn’t able to
exercise consistently, so I ended up gaining weight. Add the fact my surgeon
wanted me heavy for the April surgery, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life.
The good news is now that I can see a future with my new body, I’ve been
working out and eating right. I’ve been following a diet of clean eating
outlined in the book AntiCancer if you are interested in that sort of thing: http://www.anticancerbook.com/book.html. To date, I’ve lost 37 pounds in 5 months and I’m
feeling better than ever. I’ve got 9 more pounds to go to get to my goal
weight, so I’m really happy. My hair has grown out to almost my pre-cancer
length, so it’s nice to feel like I’m getting back to my old self, even though
it’s in a newly constructed body.
So just two days ago, a co-worker told me that one of her
clients was diagnosed with breast cancer and the woman was reading my blog for inspiration.
I cried on the spot. I never dreamed this blog would be anything more than a
vehicle for me to communicate with all my friends because it was too painful to
keep telling the sad news over and over. The writing of this blog was cathartic
in many ways and I never dreamed it would inspire or help others. My writing of this blog gave me a little bit of confidence hearing stories like I
mentioned above, so a few months ago, I submitted a story to the Chicken Soup
for the Soul: Hope and Healing for your Breast Cancer Journey book. Well, I was
one of the 30 survivor stories picked to be in the book. I was so incredibly
shocked and proud all at the same time. I want to be able to pay it forward and
help others as much as I can. It’s nice to know that I’ve been able to
accomplish that goal via the book. It came out on September 4th and
is available through major retailers. 
I’m also very lucky that at work, our partner Chevrolet
brought the pink ribbon pace cars back to Atlanta Motor Speedway on race
weekend. AMS with Chevrolet, NASCAR and the American Cancer Society hosted 30
survivors who took rides in the pink pace cars and met NASCAR drivers on Friday, Aug. 31. Many of
my pink sisters were able to attend and it was great to be able to show them a
bit about what I do for a living. These women have such joy for new experiences
and they were so much fun to watch speed around the race track. Chevrolet donated over $6,000
to ACS as they gave $200 for every caution lap they ran during the race on
Sunday and I'm so thankful to be able to be a part of this event for the second straight year.
I’ve got my final surgery slated for Sept. 28. I can’t
even wrap my head around that it will be the last one. How amazing!!! The
surgery will be outpatient and my surgeon will just be doing the final touches. She will make both breasts are the same size and fixing some scars. I shouldn’t
be out of work long; maybe a week at most.
My birthday is this Sunday, Sept. 9. Last year, I wished that I would be "Ready to Fly" in 2012, but that wasn't in store for me. I will have to wait a bit more to finish this journey. I've learned that things happen for a reason and to trust God in his timetable for me. He kept me from going to Yellowstone in 2011. The post surgical infection kept me from taking the Yellowstone trip, only to find out later that over 80% of the park was closed the week I was supposed to be there due to record snows. I'm finally getting to take that trip for my birthday this year, so things are coming full circle. I want to thank all my friends from my NASCAR family, especially Mike Hembree for spearheading the gift idea, for giving me this second chance for this trip of a lifetime. I am so incredibly touched.
Thanks for keeping up with my and this journey. I’m
getting so close to the end of all these surgeries!
Xoxo,
Marcy
