Pink the Rink Tournament - Etobicoke, ON - October 2013 (see note below)
Sitting there in the doctor’s office that day I started wondering what was going to happen next? I was done with all the treatments and surgeries. I knew I was going to have appointments every three months on a rotation between the medical oncologist, the radiation oncologist, and my family doctor. I would also have bone density tests at least once a year. The doctors were going to ensure that I got tested when necessary with chest x-rays or whatever else was needed. I knew that I was in the system and would be watched for any chance of cancer recurrence. That was not going to happen. Knock on wood.
Grouse Mountain Hiking Trail, BC - Summer 2011
Now the next and most bothersome question that was buzzing around in my brain was this: “When can I officially say that I am cancer-free?” The doctor’s answer was NOW. She said I can say it now. I am cancer-free. She said that everything I had done since the mastectomy were all steps in my goal to use every means possible to eradicate the chance of future cancer. That’s pretty amazing. I have to say it again. I AM CANCER-FREE!!! That day was October 17, 2007. A date to remember.After I left the doctor’s office I called Mike once I got to the car to tell him and he congratulated me but didn’t seem to be as excited as I thought he might. In fact I wasn’t really as excited about the great news as I thought I would be either. I think I just needed some time for it to really sink in. I mean we had been going non-stop for over a year on this journey to get rid of this cancer and now that I could finally say “I no longer have cancer” it was just all of a sudden an abrupt turn of events. Don’t get me wrong because I was ecstatic. Just kind of overwhelmed and shell-shocked I think.
Mike & I - Little Current, ON - Summer 2013
I guess Mike was too because later that night when he was driving to Montreal he called me to say that he finally had some time to think about this news and digest it a bit and it had kind of just hit him. He wanted to tell me how relieved he was and how proud he was of me for fighting so hard to get rid of it. When I told the kids they had big smiles on their faces and Alex said that I should go and ring the victory bell. I decided to wait until Mike got back from Montreal so we could ring it together.I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Special Note: Words cannot express how much it meant to me to see this photo posted on facebook and instagram. We love the hockey community! This absolutely brought me to tears. Happy tears. A team in my daughter's league was at the Pink the Rink tournament in Etobicoke, Ontario in October 2013 and were showing their support. Thanks to all of our friends at RSL Midget AA!!
