Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Welcome to my blog

Everyone seems to know someone who is going through this, has gone through this, or knows someone who is going through this. THIS is breast cancer, and that is where my story begins, or at least where this blog begins.

Hi, my name is MaryJo and I’m a 56 year old woman recently diagnosed with Stage 3, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma – right breast and right axilla lymph node.  I’m married to an amazing man (Ron) who is with me all the way on this challenging journey.  We were married 5 years ago surrounded by our family and friends on a beach in the Outer Banks of NC.  Our story starts last January 2010 when Ron lost his job. Like many others’ going through job loss, it impacts everything. Insurance, housing, lifestyle etc…  We tried working with the mortgage company and tried to do the right thing. Despite our straight forward attempts we finally lost our home to foreclosure this September.  The most difficult loss was giving up our family dog and cat as they were not able to adjust from being free to roam our 4 ½ acre home to a 2 bedroom apt. I discovered the lump in my armpit in the spring but held off doing anything about it because of the insurance issue. I never dreamed it was cancer. Being a self pay patient has brought some difficult challenges. But I’ve found a great surgeon and oncologist to help me.  My blog will provide more detail for those who may be facing similar challenges. Thanks for traveling this journey with me. 

1 comment:

Robert Crane said...

maryjo, let me be the first to welcome you to the wild world of blogging and to say i'm looking forward to traveling on your journey with you. i will be sure to tell others to do the same.

in the meantime, my bags are packed and i'll be waiting at the curb in front of my blog to be picked up. i'm a good backseat driver and won't be much trouble at all. promise.