Catching Up with Kristie:
God has a funny way of turning your life over on a dime, but never without a reason.
Kristie’s diagnosis might be the most atypical of them all. She was at the young age of 39 years old, she had no risk factors, no genetic predisposition, and no baseline mammograms. In fact, the only reason she found herself doing self-breast exams was because a neighbor had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she merely thought it to be a good idea to keep a close eye on herself. Call it lucky – or unlucky -- for her to have found a lump that felt like a hard, smooth pebble under her skin. It moved around so much, that 14 years later, there is still no proof of what she had felt. Neither doppler ultrasounds nor mammograms could show any indication of something there.
Feeling frustrated, and knowing in her gut that something was wrong, Kristie was sent to a surgeon – the first person to definitively say that there was something under her skin. She burst into tears at the mentioning of the word cancer. Her tumor was found to be in situ and invasive, and she had it taken out as soon as possible. There were no biopsies performed, and there was no chemotherapy in her future plans.
Oddly enough, after her tumor was taken out, her body went through what Kristie describes as a detox. She had been experiencing fatigue and vertigo long before she got diagnosed with breast cancer and was dealing with some other complications from Lyme disease, but the tumor in her body was actually giving off a chemical reaction that produced fatigue and vertigo symptoms. Her tumor removal coupled with her body going through a detox period alleviated those symptoms and lifted her spirit.
When she noticed herself feeling better, she thought, “Why do I need chemotherapy?” Chemotherapy comes with the notable physical changes, and it would have been difficult on her kids, then 9 and 6. to watch their mom go through something as altering as that. The drug therapy would have been Tamoxifen, but she was a “super metabolizer,” as her doctors put it. She could not tolerate even small doses. Kristie was left with a radiation option that lasted 6 weeks, leaving some permanent damage to her ribcage and logging some extra miles on her car as she drove to a different part of the state of Connecticut to receive treatment.
Anyone passing through or having lived in Connecticut knows the traffic is terrible, and a quick construction timeline is just too much to ask. Frustrations about her trips aside, which included having to drive through heavy traffic and on-going construction sites, Kristie decided that each Friday she’d have lunch with girlfriends as a celebratory mark of getting through one more week of radiation. The lighthearted atmosphere of having lunch with the girls gave her that extra strength to fight, which she mostly mustered for her kids. She said that if she could have anything out of cancer, it would be extra time with both of them. And that she had.
Her youngest, a daughter, was in the first grade at the time, with her oldest, a son, in third. Her sweet, innocent daughter was living in oblivion of her mom’s disease. Kristie had told the kids about what she had – she never wanted to be in hiding – but understanding the complexity of breast cancer as a young child is hard. Her daughter’s teacher would ask, “How’s your mom doing lately?” and her daughter would respond, “Well, you’ve seen her. She looks fine.” It was the epitome of childhood innocence. And her son? The playful and inquisitive youngster brought home purple tomatoes that he swore would help his momma run her cancer right out of town.
Kristie wanted life to go on as normal as it possibly could. Her active lifestyle of being involved with her children’s school, the small-town community and the local church dwindled for a bit, but she was able to pick up right where she left off when time allowed. She received an outpouring of love from everyone around her, which she still acknowledges as a critical feature of fighting cancer: having a strong support team. From her girlfriends that attended the Friday lunches to her sister-in-law – who was also a young woman when she was diagnosed with breast cancer – several people stepped right up to the plate to help her take a swing at the cancer curveball.
Her sister-in-law let her know one very important piece of advice: cancer will consume you. It will take over your every thought, every action, every reaction, and every second, every hour, of every day. But it will get better. Your thoughts will change from “What Is happening in my life?” to, “What do I want my life to look like?” And before you know it, an hour will pass without cancer coming into focus. Then, two hours. Flash forward to days, hours, and weeks where your cancer will soon be nothing but a pesky fly, begging for your attention.
Before Kristie’s cancer diagnosis when she was battling lyme disease is what she considers a low point. She had no clue what was wrong, her Lyme disease condition was only improving minimally, and she couldn’t be active with her kids. Once the cancer was out, it was a rebirth, a renewal, and a second chance.
She chose not to look at cancer as a sentence, but an opportunity for growth. How could she be there more for her kids? What differences does she want to make in her life? How can she talk to God and seek his help? What changes can she make right here, right now? With these thoughts and new life trajectory, she became a mother that now outruns her kids at the park instead of vice-versa.
A trampoline workout regimen she started during treatment wasn’t the only thing that helped her re-shift her priorities to being the healthiest version of herself. Another benefit she found was seeing a nutritionist. Kristie was told to take two tablespoons of ground flax seeds daily, and it turns out, ground flax seeds are known to help shrink tumors. They’re a great source of Omega-3 fats and fiber, and once you add them to a smoothie or baked good, they’re hardly noticeable. The smaller steps might prove to be the most valuable in the end, but it’s important to note progress is never linear, either. There will be good days and bad days and days where the fatigue is so strong your bones ache when you go up the stairs and days when you’re just ready to fling cancer back to the moon. What’s important is how you train the mind to see the good and how you can bounce back.
She can’t stress enough the importance of a support group, and she notes that going through this alone certainly has sufficient power to take someone down. No one is strong enough to fight this on their own. Having family, friends, parents of other children from school, and support from your church can make all the difference when it comes to channeling your inner warrior. Knowing there are people in your corner to rise up to the occasion to help let Kristie feel loved and cared for, but also, gave her power and strength to push forward.
Kristie has chosen to take control of her life and believes that everything happens for a reason. Her cancer is gone for good, so after 14 years of being out of the cancer world, she is no longer at risk for hers to come back. Anything at this point would be a new cancer, but she isn’t worried about that. Instead, she’s taking trips to the Adirondacks, spending time with her now grown kids, and enjoying the sweet Connecticut sunshine at her home.