Mid January, I decided to make my cancer diagnosis “Facebook official.” Here’s what I shared:
I’ve decided to share about my health which I’ve kept fairly private for several months now. I’m doing this to hopefully change people’s perspective on this disease. In early November I was diagnosed with breast cancer, the same terrible disease my mom had 3 times which took her life 6 years ago. I was 23 weeks pregnant. Initially I was shocked and terrified but knew I had to focus all my energy on getting the care and rest I need for the toughest fight of my life. I wanted to stay busy and keep working but had to abruptly stop in order to take care of myself, even though the pool I manage was busier than ever.
Instead of being able to enjoy this last pregnancy, we have been on edge hoping our baby is ok. The holidays were tough. The morning after Thanksgiving I had surgery for my port placement. I had my 2nd round of chemo the week of Christmas. I entered the New Year losing my hair. We feel confident in the medical team that has been working together to give me and my baby the best possible care. My ob has been amazing and not only helped form this team but has helped me with every step of this difficult diagnosis and treatment. The good news is baby is doing very well and I seem to be responding well to the chemo. I have a long way still to go including half my treatments after the baby is born and then surgery but I’m taking it day by day and staying as positive as I can and if you know me this is hard as I’m not usually the most optimistic person.
I am also trying to stay as normal as possible. I am still working out almost every day (yes I’m a little crazy!) and doing as much as can with the kids when I have the energy. My appetite has remained pretty good and the biggest side effect (aside from the hair loss) has been extreme tiredness. So aside from the low energy and lack of hair I’m the same Erin you all know. While I have to stay in a bit of a bubble (thanks omnicron variant) and am living in a cancer centric world now, I don’t want this disease to define me. Treat me like normal, talk to me about Philly sports which I love, ask about my kids who are my world. This is a big bump in the road for me but I’m fighting hard and doing ok so far.
I’ve always been competitive so now I’m ready to take down the toughest competition I’ve ever faced. I also consider myself very strong and I’m focused on doing everything I can to kick this cancer’s ass.So sorry for the long post but I figured it was time to share what I have been dealing with. This is tough and exhausting but thanks to all the support I have from family, friends, my medical team and my amazing husband, I am remaining positive and strong. This cancer has messed with the wrong bad ass.
