M e m b e r Pe r s p e c t i v e
by Jeannie Rocchio
The End of the World
Surviving and Thriving After The Worst
MRIs, CT scans, lots and lots of blood
work. All of this has to be done
before you can have surgery.... what
kind of surgery? I wasn't even sure yet.
I found a wonderful surgeon who
assured me that he was going to be
able to do breast conservation surgery.
I was able to have a lumpectomy. They
caught it early. Thank God! I was
going to have surgery and shortly after
that, 7 weeks of radiation therapy. I
was scared. With every test, every
blood draw came with a wait for a
Rebounding: Cor and Jeannie Rocchio
I
t was December 21, 2012, the last
day of the Mayan calendar; the end of
the world as we know it, so the
Mayans said. Well, it was, for a moment
the end of the world as I knew it. It was
the day I was diagnosed with breast
cancer... at 43. I got the call, as many
before me did and many after me will.
I’m here to tell you, it doesn't have to
be the end of the world as you know it.
Of course, the call was devastating. I
actually dropped the phone and hit the
floor. Thankfully, my husband was there
to pick me up and carry me through one
of the hardest things I would ever have
to go through. We heard the news and
processed it. Now comes the hard part,
telling people.
Telling your mom and dad is not easy.
Telling your children, even harder, their
poor little confused and scared faces.
Reminding them not to post it on
Facebook. I’m not even kidding; I did
have to say that. Then comes telling
your friends. Trying to tell them all not
to worry. You almost find yourself
comforting them. “Really, I’ll be okay,
don't worry about me, I’ve got this." I
finally get my head around this and truly
think, I've got this, now there is work to
be done. There are tests to be had,
6
I was diagnosed with
breast cancer...at 43.
I got the call, as many
before me did and many
after me will. I’m here
to tell you, it doesn't
have to be the end of
the world as you know it.
result. Did it spread, is a lumpectomy
still going to be what I need? Every
time I woke up I thought, is today the
day it spread?
My surgery was scheduled for January
21. I had my tests and prepared for my
surgery, all the while, thinking, I’m
going to be just fine. I carried on like
usual. I got up and went to the gym. I
met my girls there and they supported
me and made me feel better every
day. If I wasn’t feelin’ it on a
particular day, the text would come
through: “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,”
and I went. Thanks, Marie! The day
finally came. We got up early and off
to the hospital we went. So far, so
good. There’s a lot of prep work to do
before this type of surgery. It’s a
really snowy day in January, 2013 so
everyone is late. The roads are awful.
The radiologist has to be there along
Summer 2016 FIT to Print
with everyone else, and she’s late too.
I’m off to a late start. We finally get
rolling, and it's off to pre-op I go. It’s
finally time to head up to the operating
room.
We were waiting for so long I started to
think of other things, like how hungry I
was. But now it’s time, and I’m scared.
My husband can only take me so far. He
held my hand up until the operating
room doors, then had to let go. A
wonderful nurse who I’d come to know
held my hand until I fell asleep. I woke
up in recovery. Great news: it did not
spread to my lymph nodes. Radiation
will still be the protocol. Positive
thinking all the way, I’ll do this no
sweat…Well, lots of sweat, actually. It’s
exhausting. In the beginning, I’m a
champ. I made my daily radiation appt
at 10:30 so I could go to the gym first. I
missed my gym buddies. I had to be out
for six weeks to heal. In those six weeks
I would have never made it without my
friends
and family.
My parents
Maintenance
“Man”: Cathy
Peacockcame up
to take care of my kids while I couldn't.
We were all overwhelmed by the
kindness of everyone around us. Night
after night, dinner arrived courtesy of
the best people I know and love.
For the first week, I rock radiation, I
workout, I go to my treatment, I'm good.
Week 2...still good. Week 3, I have to
admit, I’m getting tired. Week 4, I need
to nap, and I can’t believe it, me, a nap?
No way! Now, I come home each day and
sleep. By the next week I actually need
to set an alarm to be sure I’m up for my
youngest son’s bus. Did I mention that I
have a son with Autism who needs
constant attention? Yes, really! My other
boys are older and very helpful, but that
little one is a handful.
I’m in the home stretch, then finally it’s
over. It takes a little while to bounce
back. Then one day you realize that you
didn’t need to take it slow or need a
nap, and you feel your energy coming
back.. One day, you finally feel like
yourself again. I can get back to the
gym.
I’d been going to "fitness" for a few years
and had been a little nervous abut
getting into the "big room" with all of
the people who looked like they knew
what they were doing. Then my gym
buddy, Marie, talked Debbie and me into
trying it out. Well, I thought radiation
was exhausting! I had been going to that
gym for years, why was I so beat up from
it? It was a new workout, that was why.
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