I Kicked Cancer's Ass

DigiJeff Jumps Out Of A Plane To Support #beatcancer

2009-10-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

As a lot of you know I am the founder of Spirit Jump, a non profit organization with the mission to support those battling cancer. Spirit Jump was honored to be 1 of 4 charities involved in the #beatcancer mission to get the most shared messages on the internet. This attempt was successful and got in the Guinness Book Of World Records!! And ontop of that over $70,000.00 was raised to be shared between the 4 charities involved.

While this was only a 24 hour attempt the message continued on long after those 24 hours lapsed. In fact someone even jumped out of an airplane to support #beatcancer. DigiJeff, who works with Chamillionaire a multi platnium artist, had never jumped out of a plane before nor did he ever want to. But, he saw an opportunity to make a difference and took it.

Please take a moment to watch this video about DigiJeff's #beatcancer jump!

Vegas!

2009-10-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Spirit Jump had the honor and privilege to attend both Blogworld and Sitscation in Las Vegas. It was an amazing experience and we met so many wonderful people, organizations and business.

Our founder, Meaghan Edelstein, was invited by Blogworld to be a speaker on the Kick Cancer's Ass Panel along with Jay Scott of Alex's Lemonade Stand, Drew Olanoff from Blame Drew's Cancer and Natalie Lent of Stand Up To Cancer. It was an amazing opportunity for Meaghan to meet some very influential, inspiring and brilliant people who fighting to bring cancer awareness to the forefront of peoples minds and hearts.

As many of you know Spirit Jump was also invited to Blogworld as 1 of 10 winners of the Name Your Cause contest held on Twitter. This gave us an opportunity to have a booth at the Expo on Friday 10-1:30 where we gave out "swag" bags and encourage everyone around to sign up and become a Spirit Jumper. All the items in our "swag" bags were donated by Spirit Jumpers like Live Life Solid, Do Life Now, Pinwheel Girls, Destiny, Amy B.- THANK YOU!

Spirit Jump was also involved in a charity contest called Charity Smackdown with the other winners of Name Your Cause. We were the heavy underdogs and won by only $30. We could not have done this without all our amazing supporters who made this win possible! As the winners of Charity Smackdown Paypal will donate $2,000.00 to Spirit Jump!

Spirit Jump knew right away that we had to donate some of our winnings back to the other charities. Each one of these charities raises money for important causes and were represented by amazing people who we fell in love with. So, when Spirit Jump receives its $2,000 prize from PayPal we will be donating some of that to the following charities:

Heifer Portland
3For5
Canine Companions for Independence
Best Friend Animal Society
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Stepwise Foundation
Surfrider Foundation
LA's Best
Mothers Fighting For Others

Here are some photos of the Spirit Jump team with some of the above charities:

(Jay & Melissa of Alex's Lemonade Stand)

(Meaghan with Noland & Bryan of Heifer Portland)

(Rocky of Mothers Fighting For Others)

(Kerri with 3For5)

(Sally of Stepwise)

(Bryan with two representatives of LA's Best)

Spirit Jump was also very honored to be invited to SITSCATION and man did we have a blast with these ladies!

The amazing ladies at SITS threw a fabulous fundraiser party for us last Friday at the Venetian and it was so much fun! I (Meaghan) met many of the women I have been looking up to for the past year and a half I have been blogging, I danced my butt off AND SITS raised over $900.00 for us that night!!!! This was just more than we could have ever imagined and for that we will be eternally grateful!

To top it all off SITS also hosted an online auction that very day and will be hosting a second one this Friday. We have been in such desperate need for funding and these ladies really pulled through for us....THANK YOU!

Spirit Jump was part of a Historical moment

Some of you may have seen the #beatcancer over the past few days. This was an attempt by an organization called Everywhere to set a Guinness World Record for distribution of the largest mass message through social media. Four charities were chosen to be a part of this record setting attempt and Spirit Jump was one of the four which also included Stand Up To Cancer, Alex's Lemonade Stand and Bright Pink. Along with setting a record over $70,000 was raised to be shared between the four charities involved.

We at Spirit Jump would like to extend a huge thank you to MillerCoors, Ebay/PayPal and Everywhere for making this possible and for including us in this important record setting message #beatcancer.

Im Speaking At Blogworld!

2009-10-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Spirit Jump is extremely excited about our upcoming trip to Las Vegas where we will attend Blog World and SITSCATION .

Thursday 10/15, SJ founder Meaghan Edelstein will be a panelist on the Kick Cancer’s Ass panel at the Blog World conference along with other fellow cancer ass kickers like Drew Olanoff of Blame Drew’s Cancer, Stand Up To Cancer & Alex's Lemonade Stand

Friday night, SITS will be throwing a fantastic party for Spirit Jump with a raffle and online auction. SITS is generously donating 100% of the proceeds generated from the raffle and online auction to Spirit Jump! You can participate in the online auction by clicking here starting this Friday morning.

HELP THE UNDERDOG WIN CHARITY SMACKDOWN

Spirit Jump is about to get seriously SMACKED DOWN. Here's why. As many of you know Spirit Jump is a small grassroots organization that operates with virtually NO budget. We will be going up against some VERY LARGE, well organized organizations with MUCH LARGER budgets in what's called the Charity Smackdown. So it looks like we are about to get SMACKED DOWN BIG TIME...UNLESS... YOU HELP THE UNDERDOG WIN!

This is how the CHARITY SMACKDOWN works.

Spirit Jump will be competing against 8 other charities who all won spots to Blogworld through the Name Your Cause contest (you can see the other causes by clicking the link).

The contest begins on Thursday October 15 @ 1pm EST and runs through Saturday October 17 @ 12pm EST. Whichever charity receives the most donations through Paypal wins! The first prize winner receives $2,000 from Paypal, second place $1,000 and third $500.

HOW YOU CAN HELP SPIRIT JUMP WIN

Make a donation to Spirit Jump on any one of the following sites through Paypal. Any amount will help $1,$5, $10, $20 whatever. Also if you know any BIG HITTERS who would like to donate to a great cause this would be the time to call them. (You do not need to have a Paypal account to do this you can use a credit card):

Charitysmackdown.com -Be sure to click the Spirit Jump widget

facebook.com/charitysmackdown- Be sure to click the Spirit Jump widget

Spiritjump.org - Be sure to click the Spirit Jump Smackdown widget

facebook.com/spiritjump - Be sure to click the Spirit Jump Smackdown widget

Only donations made through the PayPal widgets via the sites listed above count towards the contest!

The charity with the most donations WINS! You can see a who is winning by visiting the Charity Smackdown website.

Whether you are able to donate or not here is how you can also help us win:

We are HUGE underdogs and the only way we stand a chance at winning is with your help!

1) If you use Twitter follow @BWsmackdown to watch the smack talk and keep track of who is winning. When Tweeting use the hashtag #BWsmackdown.

2) Post and alert all of your friends on Facebook

3) If you Blog then Blog about it

4) Call your friends, email your contacts, knock on your neighbors doors whatever you can think of to help get the word out

Thanks so much for your support! Now let's not let those BIG BULLY'S PUSH LIL OL' SPIRIT JUMP AROUND! NOW GO GET EM!

A couple firsts for this Cancer Ass Kicking Gal

2009-10-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

Wow I have been neglecting this amazing blog and that is bad, bad, bad! Don't worry I am not going to abandon it so please stick with me! So much has been going on and there have been so many firsts for me these days. Therefore, this blog is dedicated to FIRST:

I RAN A 5K

I ran a 5k in honor of those who lost their lives and are currently battling Breast Cancer. It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we should all be doing our part in raising awareness. Most people reading this blog know that I do not nor did I ever have breast cancer but instead had 3b cervical cancer. However, many of you do not know that my mother and aunt both battled breast cancer. This is a serious disease and we all need to show support for those who have and are facing it.

This run was also about me though. Since my battle with cancer I have lost all my muscle and a lot of my courage to run. Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, Bryan, I have been running every day. Bryan encourage me to to do this run and while it was difficult I felt so amazing when I crossed that finish line. I did something I thought I could never do after cancer and man does that feel great - IN YOUR FACE CANCER!

I WENT TO A CANCER WORKSHOP

I know it sounds strange but since my diagnosis in February 2007 I have NEVER participated in any type of therapy (individual or group). Yesterday I did participate in a workshop for woman who have battled cancer. All I can say was this experience was amazing and showed me how much I need to work through. After this experience I would highly suggest workshops for those who are not so interested in private therapy sessions. I met some wonderful men and women and was able to share my experience and hear that I am not alone in the feelings I felt were so strange and hard to express.

I WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AT TWO CONFERENCES

I never thought anyone would want me to speak at a conference so man was I surprised when I was asked to participate in two very impressive conferences. The first is SITSCATION an amazing two day conference put on by the lovely SITS Girls Next Friday night they are hosting a party/raffle where all proceeds will go to my charity, Spirit Jump. I am also going to attend the entire conference, learn tons and meet some amazing people.

The second conference I was invited to speak at is Blog World Yes you heard me right Blog World! In 2007 they had 98 Million viewers (attendees + online viewers) and MEAGHAN EDELSTEIN is going to be on a panel. I am so excited about this. I will be on the panel with Drew from I Blame Drew's Cancer, Stand Up To Cancer and Alex's Lemonade Stand. The panel is set for Thursday 10:00-11:15.

AND....Spirit Jump won 1 of 10 spots for NPO's to participate in Blog World. This means Spirit Jump will be a part of the Expo and have an opportunity to share our mission with over 40,000 attendee's. We are just beyond excited!

So things have been crazy but with GREAT things! I can't thank you all for the support you have given me and the guidance as well. Don't give up on this blog I promise to post more often and share all the things that I can do and be after Kicking Cancer's Ass!

The Begining

2009-09-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

December 2006 is when it all began. I went to an OBGYN in Florida for a yearly checkup. The doctor pulled me into his office and this is how the conversation went:

Dr.- “Things look pretty bad”

ME- “What, what does that mean?”

Dr- “I think you have pretty advanced cervical cancer”

ME-“What…what…could it be anything else, are you sure?”

Dr-“If you hear hooves, its probably horses not zebras”

ME-“What, what, what I don’t follow”

Dr- “Have a good holiday I’ll call you after the holidays”

Needles to say I was SHOCKED! I mean I never imagined I had cancer and if I did this was not how I expected to be told. For the next half hour I sat in my car, alone, confused and scared. There was no way this could be happening to me. So, I started calling family and friends and everyone said, “No way, that can’t be the case”. What was I suppose to do, think or say. What I did was make an appointment with another OBGYN for a second opinion.

After the first doctors visit I started bleeding heavily and experiencing terrible pain. I had to wait two weeks before I could be seen by the new OBGYN. When I finally got to see the new doctor things had gotten pretty bad. I was passing tennis ball sized blood clots, bleeding through my clothes and sleeping maybe 4 hours a night. They conducted all sorts of tests on me. When they attempted to do a PAP I screamed in pain. The Nurse Practitioner tried three times but the pain was too much. She decided to get one of the doctors but he was “too busy” to see me. They scheduled an appointment for an ultra sound and sent me on my way.

The next month is a bit of a blur for me but basically this is how it went. After the first visit the pain and blood increased significantly. I called the doctor’s office the next day and the day after that. “There’s nothing we can do for you” is basically the answer I got. When I got the ultra sound it was horribly painful (it shouldn’t have been under normal circumstances). All the tests showed no STDS or PID and the ultra sound showed no cysts. But the pain was getting worse and the bleeding too. Law school had started up again, my second semester of my second year. I had to go to school. The drive was an hour each way and I couldn’t make it the entire way without stopping because I was in so much pain. Each day the pain and blood increased. I called the doctor everyday and went into the office several times a day but nothing. I asked if I could have a CT scan but they didn’t want to do that. On several occasions I brought someone with me to my visit because I felt like I was going crazy! How could these doctors not be helping me? How could they let me go home when I was bleeding so badly? How can I keep living like this? But even with others in the examining room with me the answers were the same: “There’s too much blood I can’t see anything”. WHAT!?! And if you are saying to yourself, “no way that can’t be true” just ask my friend who was sitting by my side holding my hand and she will tell you, “yup that’s exactly what they said”.

This continued for a month. Eventually I stopped sleeping entirely. I would lay in my bed in horrific pain. So many thoughts went through my head, am I dying, should I call the doctor, should I call my parents, what can I do….The only time I felt any kind of relief was when I was in the bathtub so I took, and I am not exaggerating, between 20-30 baths throughout the night. I would wait till 7 or 8 in the morning and then call the emergency line at my doctors. Why you ask, because I didn’t want to bother them, I didn’t want them to be annoyed with me, I needed them!! The answers I got were never helpful; “maybe you’re constipated” was one of my favorites. What’s even funnier is I believed them!!! Now you may be asking yourself, what about the first doctor who told you the hooves bit? Well I just thought he was crazy. What a crazy way to tell someone they might be dying of cancer. Insensitive, dangerous and cold are only three of the many ways I could describe that guy. I believed these doctors. I trusted them! Aren’t we always told to get a second opinion, well that’s what I did and I believed them. I told my new OBGYN about the first doctor and his diagnosis but they said, and I quote “If you were 60 years old I would tell you, you advanced cervical cancer, but you are too young and there is no way-YOU DO NOT HAVE CANCER I CAN ASSURE YOU OF THAT”. Thankfully my friend was with me during this visit so she can tell you that yes that is what the doctor said right after he said there was too much blood to see anything.

One day my OBGYN returned one of my many calls and left a message, I was in class when he called. That’s right folks I was going to ALL my classes, taking notes, getting called on etc….I checked the message and started crying as I listened. He was dropping me as a patient; actually his secretary was doing it!! “The doctor wanted me to tell you there’s nothing more we can do for you” How could this be happening? What was I suppose to do now? I’ll tell you what I did, I called a new doctor. I also called the OBGYN that was trying to drop me back. What did they say you ask: “No, no, no we aren’t dropping you we are just telling you there’s nothing more we can do” So I was annoying them, I was “putting them out”. Well excuse me I thought you were suppose to call your doctor when you were bleeding, in pain, losing weight. I forgot to tell you, one of the many visit they weighed me and I had lost 10 pounds in less than a week. If you want my opinion I think they thought I was crazy but crazy people don’t bleed excessively so how do they explain that??

I went to a GP who told me he thought I was just suffering from shocked. I had told him my entire story and this doctor believed that I was shocked and stressed from the original doctor telling me I might have cancer. I told this doctor that it had been at least a week and a half since I last slept. Not one minute, thirty seconds, nothing. NO SLEEP! He gave me Lunesta and said that I should take two and if I didn’t sleep to call him at home the next morning. No sleep! I even took 3 and still didn’t sleep one minute. PAIN, PAIN, PAIN that’s all I had. I called the next morning, a Saturday, and the Dr. told me to come to his office immediately. He wasn’t working but would meet me there. This time the doctor gave me Seroquel. This is a medication that is giving to people with chemical imbalances. It worked the first night. But the second night it did not and I was back to no sleep.

Finally one day I could take no more. I was still with my OBGYN, even though he tried to drop me. Even though my OBGYN told me not to go to the hospital I did. I drove myself to the hospital. That’s right I went alone. I was alone through all of this. Besides my friend going to the doctor with me that one day and one of my sisters friends going to the doctor with me I was all alone. That was the worst time of my life. Worse than Chemo, Radiation, Surgery etc…Even thinking about it brings me to a dark place.

That’s all I can write for now.

CranioSacral Therapy & My Guest This Tuesday On The Spirit Jump Podcast Show

2009-08-23T12:58:00.001-07:00

This week I was lucky enough to try CranioSacral Therapy and I LOVED it! So I decided to invite Kimberly LaRue to be this Tuesdays guest on The Spirit Jump Podcast Show (Tuesday 7-9EST www.wafs.tv).

Kimberly is a licensed Massage Therapist, CranioSacral Therapist, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Holistic Cancer Therapist and Lecturer. Kimberly strives to encourage and support people in their discovery of their own natural healing ability, leading to a greater sense (awareness) of well-being and overall health.

I had the pleasure to meet Kimberly and benefit from a CranioSacral Therapy session. It was amazing and I am shocked I had never heard of it before. After my session I felt lighter, less stressed and just plain better. My first thought as I was walking out of the center was "I wish I had taken advantage of CranioSacral Therapy earlier".

As a cancer fighter I have endured many types and levels of pain. For the past two years I have tried almost everything including more pain medications than I care to mention (Fontanel patches, lolli pops, diloted, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxycoton etc...) All these pain meds did was numb me. I still had pain but I cared less about the pain.

Yoga, Meditation and CranioSacral Therapy are wonderful ways for people with cancer to heal both emotionally and physically. I encourage you all to stop by, watch, listen and call in this Tuesday to learn more about the healing power of a gentle touch!

You can read more about Kimberly and her amazing work by visiting Shade Tree Yoga and Wellness

Fellow Fighter Art

2009-08-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

When I had Hodgkin lymphoma in 2002, I promised myself that when I was healthy again, I would do something to make a difference for those suffering from cancers. One thing I have done, starting in 2005, was to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as a marathoner with their Team in Training Program. Having never even run a 5K before cancer, I have completed three marathons and one half-marathon since then, while raising over $40,000 for LLS. I plan on doing another event next year.

Even as a survivor, it doesn’t always come home every second of why I put myself through this. Memories of what it was like to have cancer can fade a bit over time. But then, while in Nashville this past April for the Country Music Half Marathon, I had this brief magical moment that immediately reminded me of why this is so important. It was the kind of instant that makes you want to smile and cry all at the same time. I cannot get this out of my mind, and decided to share it with the world.

I went to take a walk that afternoon from the team’s hotel down to the Cumberland River, get a bit more of the lay of the land in downtown Nashville. I was wearing a Team in Training shirt. As I rounded the corner by the convention center, two young women and two young girls passed me walking the other way. The girls were about six to eight, I would guess. I barely noticed any of them, given that I didn’t see them until I rounded the corner, and as quick as I walk we passed each other in less than 2 seconds. But then I heard one of the women speak to one of the girls: “Look! There’s one of the Leukemia Society people!” I turned my head – they were now about 25 feet behind me – and looked at them. She was talking to one of the little girls, who happened to be bald with just a hint of hair growing back. And in an instant it hit me – “My God! This young girl has leukemia!” I smiled at her and waved, and she gave me a shy, sweet smile back. Then we went on our separate ways.

For a second I thought that I would go back and chat with them, tell them that I am also a survivor and assure her that she will be, too. Then I felt like I might be intruding, and decided to keep on going. But as I walked along, choking back tears for a short time, I thought of her. I thought about her as I sat by the Cumberland River a little later. I thought of her during the Inspiration Dinner the next night, and again during the race the day after that. And at the Victory Party the night after the race. And of course since then, which is why I am writing this now. I know I will wonder about her for a long time. Will she ultimately survive? Will she graduate from high school and college? Fall in love? Get married? Have her own children and maybe grandchildren someday? Maybe do a marathon herself with Team in Training for LLS? Discover a cure for cancer someday or invent something that helps the world?

And I thought “This is why I do this.” Why I get up at 4AM and 4:30AM to run and walk miles alone in the dark before work. Why I give up Saturday mornings when sleeping in and then relaxing with a cup of tea might sometimes be easier. Why I train so long at times that I have to soak in a tub of ice water from the waist down. Why I am willing to run and walk 13.1 miles two days later in the heat, and 26.2 miles three times before. Why blisters and blackened and lost toenails are tolerable. Why I am willing to ask people, many whom I barely know, for donations over and over and over, until now and then one of them will email back and say “Take me off your mailing list.” And it is why my teammates, thousands of them at any given time around North America, 650 of us in Nashville that weekend alone, do all of these things, too.

It is so this young girl, and others like her, can have a future. Seven years ago, I received the gift of life when I survived a form of blood cancer that was treatable only because of much medical research and clinical trials. So to do what I can to help others have this same chance now and in the future feels like the least I can do.

Whoever you are, young Nashville girl with leukemia, I hope you survive. I hope you have a long, productive, healthy and happy life! And I am glad that our lives crossed for a brief, bittersweet instant that day.

Visit Art's Blog by Clicking Here

I have a Podcast Show

2009-08-17T06:47:00.001-07:00

I have some fun and exciting news, I have my very own podcast show! You can see me, chat in the chat room and call in every Tuesday 7-9 EST. I am also looking for guests to interview on the show. So bookmark the site www.wafs.tv and tune in. The call in number is 561-228-4020

We talk about all sorts of things from what its like to be a person battling cancer, how you can help others battling cancer, interviewing authors, other non profits and all sorts of fun stuff. Just like my charity Spirit Jump there are no boundaries!

This week I have two guests:

Cindy Papale

Cindy is the author of The Empty Cup Runneth Over. She is also a breast cancer survivor and associate producer - Board member to The Kristy Lasch Miracle Foundation -www.kristylasch.org
You can visit her website to see all the amazing things Cindy has going on:

www.theemptycuprunnethover.com

AND....on the show Cindy will be giving away one of her autographed books to a lucky caller

My Second Guest Is~

Paula Holland De Long:

Cancer survivor, life coach, speaker, and founder of What’s Next For My Life, Inc., Paula Holland De Long is an authority on how the lessons of survivorship can bring joy, passion and purpose to anyone's life. Her workshops for survivors are offered at cancer treatment centers and support organizations. Her women's teleconference action groups attract participants from around the country. What’s Next For My Life?™, is launching two new products in October, 2009. The “What’s Next For My Life? Survivor Companion Journal and DVD. To learn email paula@WhatsNextForMyLife.com or visit

WhatsNextForMyLife.com

Great Gift For Someone Battling Cancer

2009-08-13T11:42:00.001-07:00

Spirit Jump Blossoms From DK Designs
$5 donated to SJ for each sold

Cheer up and lift the spirits of those in need with the little gifts of beauty and hope. Handmade clay flower arrangements are the perfect gift to give to a Jumpee because they not only lift their spirits with a realistic, yet beautiful everlasting flower, but each little votive also has a inspirational message (i.e. "hope", "faith", "love", etc). The initial launch of flower votives will contain either single bloom of pink rose, pink ranunculus or purple hydrangeas. More flower types will eventually be available.

Many times cancer patients who are in critical care are not allowed to have fresh flowers in their rooms so these little gifts are perfect and will definitely lift their spirits.

You may ask why Diane of DK Designs decided to create these little arrangements on behalf of Spirit Jump. The reason is simple, she herself has been affected by cancer (her mother died of breast cancer over 21 years ago and her mother-in-law currently suffers from an aggressive form of bladder cancer). She was moved by the premise of what Spirit Jump stands for and what we do to help cancer patients and wanted to give back. Thus, the little flower spirit jump was born!

Spirit Jump Blossoms

Price - $30.00

Shipping - $5.00

Amount to be donated back to Spirit Jump - $5.00

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOURS

About DK Designs

DK Designs specializes in custom, handcrafted clay floral designs, as well as tropical and Asian-inspired wedding stationery. Clay flowers are created utilizing CLAYCRAFT™ by DECO© Soft Clay, formerly DECOMAGIC Soft Clay.

DK Designs was founded in 2002 by Diane Katsuyoshi-Phillips in San Jose, California, helping brides make their wedding days uniquely their own. In November 2003, DK Designs became accredited by the DECO Clay Craft Academy headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and its instructors are now able to share with others this beautiful craft developed in Japan.

In 2005, DK Designs moved the business to the island of Oahu. During that time Diane worked hard to expand her destination wedding business, working with her brides-to-be and helping them create their own custom wedding theme. It was definitely a great opportunity to work with so many wonderful people (both from the client and industry professional perspective) on the islands!

In late 2007, DK Designs made a move back to the Bay Area. It's been non-stop since the move and Diane is busy designing new custom wedding and event stationery as well as clay floral creations for her clientele! Diane is also actively teaching the Deco Clay Craft Academy courses to share her knowledge and art of Deco Clay with others! Diane still enjoys working with destination couples and continues to return to the islands, her home away from home!

Diane Phillips of DK Designs was recently featured on the Martha Stewart Show on April 1, 2008. She showed Martha Stewart how to make hydrangea flowers out of CLAYCRAFT by DECO Soft Clay. Click here to watch the video segment. Diane's work has also been featured in several bridal magazines both online and in print.

Ill Be in Boston Soon

2009-08-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hi folks things are GREAT! I had a tough little patch trying to get to my PET scan but things are all sorted out now. I will be in Boston for my PET scan September 19-26 so wish me luck everyone. Until then I will try not to think about the what if's too much. Anyway here is a little video Bryan and I made for Spirit Jump...thought you might get a kick out of it :)

Whats Wrong With These Cancer Charities?????

2009-07-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I had a very bad experience with a cancer charity today and after being upset all day I decided the best way to deal with it was to vent here on my blog.

I think most, if not all, of you know I am a cancer fighter. I live in Sunny Florida but receive my treatments and follow ups at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. For the past two years I have flown up to Boston every three months for Surgery, PET Scans and other fun doctor appointments. For the first year the cost of these flights came out of my pocket (or my parents pockets). Then I was told, by a fellow fighter who lost her battle, that there were services for people battling cancer who needed to fly. And so I started using one of these organizations, Mercy Medical Airlift, and they were wonderful!

Because I fly so much I had to find another charity to help me with my flights and let others use the services of Mercy Medical (they are a small organization with limited funds). So began the very difficult search for help. To say it mildly it did not go well....

I was put in contact with a charity called Miracle Flights. This charity requires you send a photo of yourself before they will donate a flight. I have gone through several other charities for free flights to treatment centers and have never been asked for a photo of myself. To ask is one thing but these people REQUIRE it before they will consider giving you a flight for cancer treatment.

Having cancer is horrible. Telling friends and family that you have cancer is difficult. Letting current or future jobs know of your diagnosis is also unfair and at times humiliating...cancer becomes a part of your identity. If you need assistance to pay for services you are required to share all your very personal medical information, call many numbers, talk about your cancer and divulge extremely personal information just to get some assistance. I understand why this is and that its necessary but to take it a step further and also require I send you a photo of myself, thats one step too far.

What could be the purpose? Everyone knows you cannot get on a flight without a picture ID. All my medical information includes my full name and social security number. I know what they want my photo for....PROMOTION! Well to that I say "NO" I am not going to be exploited because I have cancer. You do not get a picture of a sick young woman who needs chemo/radiation and surgeries. It makes me sad that a charity that is suppose to be doing something good insists they have the right to require so much from the one in need. They feel its their right to know every personal detail about your battle with cancer and then put a photo of you in their file to complete their intrusion.

I would rather not get my treatment than to let an organization violate my privacy any more than it already has!

Help Spirit Jump Win 2009 Cancer Fighter Award

2009-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

My life has been so busy and wonderful these past few months. After two long years filled with so many difficulties I am living a "normal" life. I can go fishing with my boyfriend, out to eat with my friends and make future plans. I am so grateful to be where I am today. This also creates some anxiety for me as I find myself feeling anxious and stressed that things could change in a moment. Cancer is a very scary disease to battle because it is never truly gone.

Some very exciting things are happening with my charity Spirit Jump. We are in the running for an amazing award. The winner is the charity with the most positive reviews. Right now we have 113 reviews but we could use more. AND...the cool part is, every person who reviewed the winning charity gets put in a drawing for a bunch of awesome prizes! So im asking my friends, followers and supports to PLEASE take a minute to write a quick review. It doesn't have to be much, a sentence works.

http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/spirit-jump/

Fellow Fighter Ezra

2009-07-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

This blog post was written by Ezra's mom. This little boy is has been a part of our Spirit Jump charity and we have all fallen in love with him. Please take a moment to read his story and put him in your prayers. Also, if you would like a button for your blog you can get on on his moms site: MANIC MOTHER

May 22nd, 2009 will forever be marked the day the world fell out from underneath us. That is the day that I heard cancer and baby used in the same sentence.

Let me back up though first for a moment. I am sure you are asking yourself how we found ourselves where we are.

Over the weekend Ezra had got bit by a spider and had a handful of bites on him, we were concerned they were venomous spider bites. He was also limping in the leg that the bites were. We took him in to see the Dr.s and they basically said just to monitor him. They ordered an x-ray for a precaution because of the limp.

Its those x-ray results that changed everything.

The radiologist noticed abnormal markings in his bones, which can be indicative of leukemia. They of course said it was just a precaution but we needed to see an oncology Dr. to follow up.

The oncology Dr. looked him over and did not see any of the typical tell tale signs of Leukemia. He told us not to worry and had Ezra’s blood drawn to rule Leukemia out.

Later that night we got a phone call and were told some of the lab results looked abnormal, and were told to bring him into ER. They did more labs there, and it was by far the worst night of my life ever.

Results came in, and although they were still waiting on one more result to officially diagnose Ezra, they told us then that they thought he had Leukemia.

We sat there in our curtain enclosed area in the ER weeping, holding our sweet little boy. So many questions swirling in our heads. Why him? Am I to blame? Could it have been prevented? Is he going to die? What next?

The next morning an oncology Dr. came in and gave us the official news and told us Ezra had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Some of his first words to us were “ He is going to be fine, he is going to go on to graduate college, be a father, and a grandfather.” In my darker hours, I find myself revisiting those words often. I cherish those words. I need those words. Those words keep me afloat, they give me hope, peace, and reason.

It still doesn’t make any sense to me, how did my perfectly healthy baby go from a limp to Leukemia? Ezra did not present any of the typical symptoms of Leukemia, besides being pale. But if you have seen me or my other son, the paleness is no cause for alarm.

The reason Ezra was not yet exhibiting symptoms of ALL was because it was still really early. Typically when kids are diagnosed with ALL they have any where from 60-90% cancer cells (or blasts as they call them) present . The disease does not usually present itself till 25% blasts are found. Ezra’s were at 15% at diagnosis.

We caught his cancer on a complete fluke, and we caught it really early. Sometimes fate has a beautiful way of interceding, thank you Mr. Spider. So Ezra spent his 2nd birthday in the hospital receiving chemo.

His bone marrow was tested a week into the chemo to see how he was responding. They only found 1-2% cancer blasts left. This labels Ezra as a rapid early responder, which is highly favorable. He will be tested again at day 28, were they expect to find his cancer has gone into remission.

Ezra will receive three years of chemotherapy treatment. Most children recover completely from this cancer, and go on to live a normal cancer free life.

Prior to Ezra’s diagnosis my husband and I always talked about how there was something special to Ezra. There is a light in Ezra , that not every child encompasses. His light is infectious and can put a person at ease, make them laugh, or make them cry. He is a sweet old soul, who is knowledgeable beyond his years. He is a fighter.

He will make it through all of this just fine. He has been braver than I can ever imagine myself being.

He is my hero.

Its Been a While But I need to VENT

2009-07-11T16:22:00.001-07:00

First I have to apologize for not writing very much lately. I looked back and noticed that soon after I had my rib & kidney removed my posts dwindled off. While I feel bad I also feel a huge sense or relief. I think my lack of posts demonstrates my huge strides in both physical and mental health.

Things have gotten so much better for me. Sitting here writing I have tears in my eyes thinking of all the painful years I spent battling my beast. The sleepless nights, the tortured days....I was never truly honest with those who loved me about how difficult my battle with cancer was. But now I can honestly say I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At night I do what most people do, sleep. When I go to the bathroom I am not pulling my hair out because the pain is so bad. I'm not secretly throwing up in the bathroom because my stomach hurts so badly. And I am no longer ashamed that I can't remember something that happened just moments before.

Yes I am still scared that a PET scan will come back with bad news. I still dread my doctor visits and the possibility I will hear the the cancer is coming back. Im also aware that until my 5 years (3 years from now) I am not cancer free, not a true survivor. But for now I am so much healthier than I ever imagined I would be.

While my health is doing better I have had some difficult battles these past few weeks. As many of you know I started a non profit organization called Spirit Jump. I did this because when I was fighting my battle cards & gifts that arrived in the mail truly lifted my spirits. I wanted to share this experience with the others out there who, like me, are faced with battling cancer. At first Spirit Jump was immensely rewarding and I knew I was doing the right thing. It wasn't easy for me to put aside my lawyer career but I felt that I needed to give back to all those who were still in the darkest place I have ever been in my life. Leaving them behind, shutting my eyes to their battle just wasn't an option.

However, there have also been some negative aspects to my charity work. Because of the success of Spirit Jump our numbers have grown and others have been taking advantage of my kindness & sincerity. This charity is so important to me as it is about what I went through and how my spirits were lifted when I was sick. Unfortunately I think this makes me an easy target. I am learning how to be stronger and more of a "business woman". I am an intelligent, professional and good honest woman. I surround myself with good honest people who want to see me and my vision for Spirit Jump succeed. Spirit Jump is now a real organization and not just a dream. We are a team made of Professionals, Marketing Technology, Nonprofit advisers, Attorneys and Business owners. Those who make up Spirit Jump protect me by stepping in to deal with people/situations that are merely political and do not advance our mission in anyway. I have been extremely disappointed and hurt by those who do not trust that I am handling many difficult situations with the utmost care and integrity.

I am angry and hurt that I am working 12 hours a day 7 days a week and still it is not enough for many. I am angry that I have been attacked as a person by people who are not interested in helping people with cancer. These people want fame & attention and have used me as a way to achieve this. BUT I will not let them bring me or Spirit Jump down. I will rise above this and continue to help the MANY men, women and children who are battling for their lives.

I thank you all to my friends & followers who have supported me and loved me through my battle. I hope you continue to do so and I promise I will be updating this blog more often.

Jewelery Giveaway To Help Lift Spirits Of Cancer Fighters

2009-07-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

THIS WEEK'S DONATION GIVEAWAY IS GOING TO BE A BIG ONE. OUR THEME.. ....JEWELERY!

SPIRIT JUMP IS A SMALL CHARITY RUN BY TWO YOUNG WOMEN BATTLING CANCER. AS WE HAVE NO SPONSORS, ALL OF OUR COSTS ARE PAID FOR DIRECTLY FROM DONATIONS. IN AN EFFORT TO RAISE FUNDS TO SUSTAIN SPIRIT JUMP WE HAVE DECIDED TO HOST A FUNDRAISING DONATION GIVEAWAY.

The first prize (Pictured Above) was donated by Ginny over at CISZEK DESIGNS. With a value of $85.00 this necklace is made of Chinese Turquoise Antique "Olive" Trade Beads with Silver & Czech Glass all on beautiful Hand Knotted Silk.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Second & Third Prizes were donated by Megan (former High School classmate of Founder Meaghan). Both pairs of earrings were hand made and have a retail value of $10.00 per pair.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prizes Four & Five were donated by Erin over at FLAIR. These beautiful pendants have a retail value of $20.00 each. Both pendants are hand made and one-of-a-kind. Erin tells us "Think of them as little mirrors reflecting your own unique style."

Our Sixth Prize was also donated by FLAIR and is pictured below. One-of-a-kind and handmade this belt buckle is sure to show off your FLAIR. With a retail value of $50.00 the Buckle comes attached to a black genuine leather belt.

For each donation of $2 you will receive 1 entry for this week's drawing. There is no limit to the number of entries you can receive. This weeks Giveaway starts Sunday July 5 @ 12:01 am EDT and ends Saturday July 11 @ 11:59 pm EDT. We will draw 6 winner's for this week's giveaway.

Spirit Jump Giveaway Official Rules:

No purchase necessary. For each donation of $2.00 made to Spirit Jump, donor will be assigned one(1) ticket for this week's raffle. If you do not choose to donate but would like a raffle ticket at no charge, send an email with your complete name, address and telephone number to spiritjumpraffle@aol.com. All donations or email entries must be received by 11:59 pm EDT on Saturday July 11, 2009. Winner will be selected among all donations/email entries received in a random drawing. Descriptions of prizes listed above. Approximate retail value of Czech Necklace $85.00, Earrings $10 each, Pendant Necklaces $20.00 each, Belt Buckle $50.00 All prizes will be awarded. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Spirit Jump www.spiritjump.org

Podcast Interview With Me About Spirit Jump

2009-06-26T15:54:00.001-07:00

If you would like to hear a Podcast Interview with Myself about my battle and Spirit Jump

CLICK HERE

Fellow Fighter Kairol Rosenthal

2009-06-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Life Beyond Treatment

By Kairol Rosenthal

I was diagnosed with cancer at 27. After treatment, I ditched my hospital gown and hit the road. Traveling from the Big Apple to the Bible Belt, I recorded one-on-one conversations with 25 young adult cancer survivors who confessed to me experiences they had never told anyone else.

I was surprised by how many patients said that the hardest part of their cancer experience was life after treatment. Here’s a snippet of my conversation with Geoff Luttrell, a twenty-something survivor interviewed in my book Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s.

“When you have cancer and you wake up every morning, man, you know what’s happening: chemo, scans, IVs, the whole protocol. Everything else just falls away. There’s no confusion. Life was perfectly clear on chemo. A lot of people recovering from cancer talk about trying to live life like there’s no tomorrow, but you have to work, you have to go grocery shopping, you can’t just walk around 24/7 thinking, I have to make the best of it because I could die in the next five minutes. It’s not realistic.”

Like Geoff, I wanted to be realistic about how to deal with the directionless fray my life had become after treatment. Through my own trial and error, and while talking to other patients for my book Everything Changes, I learned some lessons that made the transition back into daily life just it a bit easier.

After treatment, be kind to yourself. Take it slowly. You don’t have to dive back into life where you left off. In fact you can’t, because life has moved ahead since you were last in it. Step slowly into your life, taking time to learn about what you want from other people and from yourself.

The entire world will want to know how you’re doing. Create a standard yet honest reply – an elevator line, that will educate them about what you are facing, such as, “I’m glad that treatment is over, but it’s pretty common to feel fatigue for a while, so I’m still recovering.”

When I traveled to Alabama, I met Tracy, a 37-year-old breast cancer patient who said, “Some people think that after an experience like cancer, if you are not smiling and doing cartwheels every day, then you’re just sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. I am grateful to be alive, but I have good days and bad days just like I did before cancer. I also believe you can’t help yourself if you deny that you have suffered.”

She’s right. Life after treatment is hard. Maybe you’re dealing with medical bills, adjusting to a missing a body part, or making sense of your work, love, or family life. Perhaps fear, anger, or sadness about your diagnosis or recurrence are smacking you in the face. Don’t pretend that everything is fine if it is not. Being real about how you feel helps relieve tension. Don’t worry - you won’t get stuck here forever. I’m living proof of this.

If you have gone through treatment, what was life like afterwards? What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you deal with it? Are you surprised that so many people said life after treatment was the hardest part of cancer?

For candid stories, practical tips, and expert advice on 20 and 30-something cancer, check out my book Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s. Visit my blog.

Have you met my Non-Profit Spirit Jump

2009-06-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

Im sorry I haven't written for a while but I have been so busy and life has been great lately! As many of you know I started a non-profit organization with my good friend Stacy. Spirit Jump has been such a positive part of my life and I want to share it with you.

I started Spirit Jump in November 2008 when I was trying to think of ways to help others who are battling cancer. Donating money was not an option for me but I could connect people who want to give with those who are in need of support. This is how Spirit Jump was born!

Spirit Jump connects the gift giver with men, women and children who are facing cancer and other debilitating diseases. When you join Spirit Jump all you're asked to do is send a card or small gift when and if you can. Its that simple. With a tight economy many people are not able to give as much to charity as they use to but when you are part of Spirit Jump you don't need to send money to help. In fact a simple home made card is priceless when received by a person who is battling such a dreadful disease.

For those of you who have kids Spirit Jump is a great way to involve them in charity. When children who are facing cancer receive a card from another child that can make their day and lift their spirits.

If you are not a jumper and would like to join or learn more please email me at spiritjumper@spiritjump.com If you know someone who could use a Spirit Jump email us and we will give you all the information on how we can help.

We are also on Twitter @spiritjump

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1069667546422&f=1&e=-12#/group.php?gid=197520490523

RAFFLE

We are planning a big raffle as a way to raise money for Spirit Jump so that we can keep up with our rapid growth. In order to have the raffle we need some donations. Quilts, jewelry, gift certificates etc...would be greatly appreciated for our raffle. All donations are Tax Deductible AND we if you have a shop it will be showcased on our website, twitter and Facebook.

Email us if you can help spiritjumper@spiritjump.com

Fellow Fighter Destiny-Neurofibromatosis

2009-05-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

“My daughter Destiny is 9 and she has Neurofibromatosis (Nf). All I do is tell her story and I spread awareness to whoever will listen. You would be surprised how many doctors and nurses that don't know what Nf is for instance here is my daughter's story.

Destiny was 10 months old when she was trying to walk. She took 2 or 3 steps and then she sat in the floor crying, there was nothing I could do to console her. Finally, after a while, I took her to the emergency room. While there they examined her and found that she had multiple fractures in her right leg and they saw the cafe au lait spots and said that they were bruises after she was misdiagnosed for child abuse.

Child Protective Services took her away and 2 days later she was seen by an orthopedic who diagnosed her with Nf. Her broken leg was tibial dysplasia and psuedoathrosis which is a congenital bone defect that sometimes occurs with NF. That's how I found out my daughter had Nf.

Destiny has had several surgeries to repair her leg but none of them helped and 2 years ago when she was 7 she had her foot amputated and she now wears a prosthetic leg as a result. She was also sent to a neurologist who found the tumor on her brain stem and the optic glioma on her left optic nerve. My daughter has to have a MRI every 6 months.

All I do is tell her story. I do it because I want the world to know what nf is. If the world knows there can be no more mistakes.

Destiny likes to read, draw, sing ,dance. She loves babies and video games and loves animals.

for all Destiny goes through she is a true inspiration to everyone. She may have Neurofibromatosis but that doesn't stop her from striving to be that best that she can be everyday and touching everyones life in the process.

Surviving Mesothelioma

2009-05-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Recently I was contacted by National Awareness Coordinator,Mesothelioma Cancer Center and asked if I could help spread awareness about this terrible cancer. Please take a minute to read this guest post and share it with friends and family.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that forms in the lining of organs. This type of cancer occurs most often in the lining of the lungs (pleural) but can also form in the linings of the stomach (peritoneal) and heart (pericardial) as well. The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, a substance that was used widely throughout the 20th century in a number of industrial applications.

This type of cancer has a very low survival rate because mesothelioma symptoms lay dormant for 25 to 50 years after asbestos exposure. By the time the cancer is diagnosed it is usually too late for treatment to be effective. But, while the usual mesothelioma survival rate is less than one year from the time of diagnosis, cases of patients living past their predicted survival date are continuing to surface. With each survivor story that comes to light, current mesothelioma sufferers are gaining a little more hope about their future.

There have been a number of mesothelioma victims that have lived far beyond the typical one year survival period and a handful that have even been cured, with no trace of the cancer many years after treatment (though recurrence is always probable). This has perplexed many medical professionals as they experience difficulty in explaining why some mesothelioma patients survive and others do not.

Research shows one common thread – the immune system. Studies of those who have either survived or been cured of the disease reveal that most of these patients took part in some sort of treatment that improved their immune system. Some treatments incorporated clinical trials in immunology while others involved alternative therapies dealing with the immune system.
One case where this immune system theory proved true was with a man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 58 (no name was given in the report*). He had a chest wall resection performed after he was diagnosed and has had no symptoms or recurrence since. His doctors think there was "moderate host inflammatory response" and that spontaneous regression may be an immune-mediated phenomenon" - in other words, his immune system played a role in his survival.

A number of mesothelioma cancer survivors have posted their stories on the Internet and have spoken to patients and their families with the hope of providing a brighter outlook for their future.

*Pilling, J.E., et al., Prolonged Survival Due to Spontaneous Regression and Surgical Excision of Malignant Mesothelioma, Ann Thorac Surg, 2007; 83: 314-5.

Fellow Fighter Kimberly Doyle-Eberhard

2009-05-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

My Awakening – Kimberly Doyle-Eberhard

In July of 1998 I had my first daughter, Faith. I was a single mom but very determined that she and I were going to have the best of everything. I would work hard to give her everything I never got as a child. After her birth, I was well on my way until I hit a big, brick wall.

At my 6 week post partum visit the OB/Gyn informed me that my thyroid felt enlarged and referred me to a Endocrinologist. Rather than hesitate, I made an appointment quickly. My first appointment was the regular, blood work, ultrasound, etc. The physician told me that there were multiple goiters and he wanted to monitor my TSH level and do a needle biopsy. A few weeks went by and I went in for the biopsy. It felt like a hundred years waiting on the results. Good news, it was negative. So, the plan was to continue monitoring my TSH and do ultrasounds every six months.

We continued that plan until 2002. Late 2002 I had my normal follow up. I told the physician that it was starting to feel like I had something caught in my throat. We knew the largest goiter (golf ball size) had been growing, very slowly. So, we made the decision to go in and remove the entire thyroid. We scheduled surgery and in December 2002 I had my entire thyroid removed. I went in for my regular post-op visit on December 17, 2002 and my life was forever changed. My physician walked into the room as white as a ghost. Here, on my 29th birthday, he had to tell me that the pathology came back showing cancer. I sat in complete shock almost thinking he was joking. I kept waiting for him to say “just kidding”. Instead, he took his time explaining what our course of action was going to be. I was sitting in this room all alone thinking about my daughter. It felt like everything was closing in and I was on the verge of collapse. Then, something changed, my fight instinct took over and I decided this was not going to get the best of me. I had a daughter to raise and I was going to be around for her.

So, we scheduled internal radiation in January of 2003. I had to go off of my medications and begin a low iodine diet. Radiation for the thyroid is very different than any other. You take a radioactive pill as an in-patient. This pill make you, the patient, radioactive. You are put in a room that looks like quarantine and the nurses and doctors are only allowed limited contact. I was in the hospital for 2 days. Upon being released, I was not allowed around my daughter for almost 14 days. It is imperative that the radiation not be passed to pregnant women or children. Being away from my girl was harder than the actual diagnosis and treatment. I had never felt so alone in my life.

The next few years included blood tests every few weeks and Nuclear Thyroid Uptake Scans every six months. Each time, everything looked okay so we stayed on the regular course of treatment. Synthroid 200 mcg.

In March 2007 I had my second daughter, Grace. Throughout my pregnancy we carefully monitored my TSH and I never had to change my dose. We did have to put off my scan for 2006 due to the pregnancy.

In September 2007 I had to see a new doctor because we moved to Colorado. During my first new patient appointment we went through all of my history. I also had new blood work drawn. The bloods work came back showing elevated levels of thyroglubin. The doctor ordered and ultrasound. This was the first ultrasound I had since removing my thyroid. A few days later I received a call that the doctor wanted me to come in and discuss the results. At that appointment I was told that there was a mass in my throat and it was in an area that can’t be biopsied. We scheduled a Nuclear Thyroid Scan to see if this mass would uptake any radiation. We did the scan, got the results and thankfully there was no uptake. So, the advice of the physician was to get another ultrasound in six months.

We moved to west Virginia in May 2008. I immediately scheduled an appointment with an Endocrinologist. At my first appointment we did an ultrasound. I have to tell you, I was not pleased with this physician at all. He took literally one minute to do the ultrasound and then said, “I’ll see you in a year”. I left his office distressed. If the physicians in Colorado could see this mass, how is it gone? So, I have spent the last year contemplating what to do and hoping that this WV physician is right.

Rather than put my life on the line I have scheduled this years appointment at UVA in Virginia. I am taking all of the films from Colorado and all of my past medical records. I am certain we will do an ultrasound. I just have to pray that there hasn’t been any growth. If there has and I waited a year for this second opinion, I will be devastated. The appointment is June 3rd and I am praying that the mass is merely scar tissue and no a recurrence.

I thought I was living life before the cancer. But, in hind sight I see I wasn’t living, I was just breathing. Although cancer is not a mere medical condition, I feel blessed that it opened my eyes to see the wonder that is in front of me. I live each day now as if it were my last. I love deeper, harder and more unconditional. I appreciate things that I used to disregard. Most importantly, my relationship with my girls is key to my continued growth and strength. Now I just want to be able to open up and share my story so others can see that the “C” word doesn’t have to be a death sentence, it can be an awakening.

Fellow Fighter Meg

2009-05-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

At the age of 14 I never thought I'd have to ever face what I would. I was a fun loving teenager playing competitive soccer, had tons of friends and loving life..... December 14th 1998 changed my life forever.

December of 1998 I couldn't get over being sick, I'd gone to the doctor 4 times and they had sent me home with various viruses and infections and of course the medicine to treat these. By the 5th time it was pretty apparent that it wasn't a virus or an infection, or if it was it was something nasty! I finally got in to see a real doctor (not a PA) and after poking at me for about 10 minutes he decided that he needed to take some x-rays to see what was going on in my lungs because they sounded pretty bad. I went back and had a few s-rays taken of my neck and then my chest...... I had no idea what was going on. About 45 minutes passes and the doctor came in and asked my sister (who had taken me to the doctor) to call and get my parents there as fast as possible. At this point I still didn't think anything was too wrong, I've since learned that anytime a doctor asks to have anyone called in it's not a good thing.

My parents showed up about half hour later and the doctor asked them to go into his office with me, he put the x-rays up on the light board and started to point out a bunch of big white things in my neck and chest. He kept saying something about Hodgkin's Disease, I of course had NO idea what the hell this Disease is but I knew it wasn't good. As soon as we left the doctors office I was full of questions to my parents. I knew I was going straight to the hospital for more tests but I still had no idea why. The next 48 hours were a blur, they were full of CT Scans, Gallium Scans, X-Rays, Ultra Sounds and Biopsy's. On December 14th, 1998 I found out that I had Cancer. My first thought was "how the hell do I have cancer? It's what old people get, not teenagers".

Trying to explain to a bunch of junior high kids that I had Cancer but that I'm going to be ok was pretty much impossible. They had to pull me out of school due to my immune system and it just seemed like none of my "friends" even cared. It was like they were too scared of getting it, or too scared of me dieing. That alone was devastating. I wanted them to support me so bad, I wanted them to come visit me at the hospital, I wanted them to call and see if I was ok, but they didn't know how to. On December 18th I had my first Chemo Therapy Session. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is that I would be getting 4 different drugs and that it would take about 8-10 hours to get all the medicine I needed and I'd probably go bald and get sick. Fun stuff huh? Well they weren't lieing at all. I got to the doctors about 7:30am and got my freshly inserted port accessed and the meds pumping. I knew I hated this already. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be with my friends more than anything....but I couldn't. At this point my attitude sucked, my parents were trying everything they could to make it positive, my doctor was amazing and cute, so were my nurses but something inside of me just hated everything about it. I thought it had ruined my life forever.

About 2 months into the treatment somehow my attitude changed totally. My mom is a high school teacher and all of these "older, cooler" high school kids had totally adopted me as their best friends and were determined to make me happy. I would come home from Chemo and my bedroom would be full of pictures and posters and stuff hanging from my ceiling. I had a full wall that they created that they named "Meg's happy wall". My parents are beyond amazing, my mom had a theory that every day we had to do something to laugh, she didn't care what it was but we had to! I think still to this day my mom can recite lines from the movie "Dumb and Dumber", for some reason that movie made me laugh so she'd sit and watch it with me over and over.

I walked into my doctors office one day for Chemo, I put out my arm out and said "I'm ready" Something kicked in. I was ready to fight this, I knew it was going to be a bitch but I wanted to get over it and live life! I wanted to be a Survivor, I wasn't going to let this win!

After 8 months of Chemo it was time for Radiation. I had heard it was a breeze compared to Chemo so I wasn't too worried. I went through 2 months going every day of Radiation and then it was the moment of truth! It was time for the final scans and check up. It came back clean!!! My doctor had warned me not to get my hopes up in case I needed more treatments but it was GONE! The thought of only having to go to the doctor once a month was a dream come true! I didn't have to puke my guts out for 4 days every other week, my hair could start growing back that I'd lost. Life was good! We celebrated like crazy!

Chemo was over, life was supposed be getting back to normal...but it wasn't. I attempted to go back to school but had a few problems. My immune system had been so damaged by the Chemo I wasn't able to go anywhere without getting everything everyone around me had. Finally that all got worked out and life was supposed to go on. Anyone that has had cancer knows about the emotions you go through. I felt so lucky, but at the same time I was so upset for having to be so sick..... I didn't know how to feel!

Since then I've been lucky enough to only have a few scares and just have my thyroid fail. I look back at everything that happened and it still amazes me and scares me, it makes me proud to be a survivor but makes me ache for those who have lost family members due to this.

Right before my 10 year anniversary of being cancer free I decided it was time to get a tattoo that would forever remind me of the awesome thing it is to be a survivor.

Cancer has changed my life

2009-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last two years. One minute i was a "regular" person in law school living life as most people do. Then I was a person with cancer, fighting for my life. Now here I am cancer free and living a completely different life than I ever expected.

I have worked so hard throughout my fight with cancer. Chemo, various types of radiation, more surgeries than I can count, law school, the Bar exam, having a kidney removed, Spirit Jump, Get The Bean....Often people tell me how proud they are and wonder how I was able to accomplish so much. The answer is so simple that sometimes it evades me. I saw my life slipping away, I looked at death and thought it won, I never thought I would see my 30th birthday, graduation or becoming a lawyer.

I fought like hell to beat cancer and then I just couldn't stop fighting. I fought to re-claim my life, to have all those things that once seemed impossible. My fight with cancer hasn't stopped and I doubt it ever will. A fire was ignited in me and each day it grows.

I AM A SURVIVOR! I am a woman who fought cancer and after that I know there is nothing I can't do. The cancer might come back someday but if it does I will be fighting. Each morning I wake up its my day, im alive and ready to take on any challenge that comes my way.

Can You Help in the Fight Against Cancer? Bid Now!

2009-05-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

This is a very Important post! Please read and pass along to everyone you know.

The picture you see above was created by one of our Spirit Jumpers in an effort to lift the spirits of a young child batting terminal cancer. Now she continues to help the fight against cancer by auctioning the painting off and donating ALL proceeds.

I asked the artist to tell you, in her own words, how she came to create this beautiful painting and why she is auctioning it.

Basically, I was doing the spirit jump for Sammie (handmade soap with a dolphin bath toy swimming in it!) and thought it would be nice to send a card to Sammie’s mum too. I decided to paint a nice relaxing sunset scene for her (I paint with beeswax) and I made a print of the painting for her, to put into a card. I thought it would be great to be able to raise some money for charity by auctioning off the original painting!! After some careful thought, I decided to donate the proceeds to the Anthony Pilcher Bone Cancer Trust based here in the UK. I chose that Trust because of the similarity with Sammie’s own battle with bone cancer – Anthony Pilcher was diagnosed at 14 and passed away aged only 15.

The Ebay auction is running for 10 days to bid please click HERE

I am taken aback by the generosity here and I truly hope that everyone considers bidding and forwarding this on to friends and family!

The Happenings of Meaghan

2009-05-03T09:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't written a post in a little while, lots of things going on. As many of you know I had my regular 3 month surgery on March 30. That went okay but when I went to get a little checkup before leaving the doctor decided that the next step would be removing the kidney. Thats when I had to make a decision.

As I was driving away from the doctors, eagerly awaiting my plane ride back to Florida the next day, I made a big decision. I am going to have this kidney removed before I do anything else. So plans were made, flights changed and I was on the road to getting my life back.

I posted about the surgery, it went well. The incision was much bigger than I had anticipated but it definitely signifies the battle I have been through. But its over now! No more 3 month surgeries, no more stents, no more cancer. I passed the Bar and my next step is to look for a job and start living life.

Don't worry this does not mean the end of my blog, its just the beginning. Cancer has changed me in so many ways and I still need to explore that. Spirit Jump is taking off and I'm very excited about that. Get The Bean is also lots of work and I enjoy selling coffee & tea with my boyfriend.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am now on twitter and if you are too please follow me and I will follow back. My twitter is @cancerlost @spiritjump and @getthebean ......lol I like to keep busy.