Hi! I am Darci and I have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). My doctor calls it the “good cancer” because it is treatable. I am not sure I agree with that as I have to take a TKI every day probably for the rest of my life and it comes with lovely side effects such as fatigue, chemo brain, and others. I have been stable with no evidence of disease since October of 2020.
I live in the North Hills with my husband, son, two cats, and a dog.
Hi, I’m Stephanie I live in Canonsburg with my husband, daughter, black lab, and way too many cats( that’s kind of embarrassing to say. lol). I was diagnosed with metastatic lobular breast cancer ER+ and HER- almost five years ago. It has been behaving so far. It is resting in my bones and not causing too much excitement. Thanks to God. I look forward to meeting all of you. Here’s to getting our MoveOn.
Hi, My name is Beth. I live in Shaler with my Husband and my dog I was diagonsed with lobular and ductal carcinoma. Had surgery and radiation last year. I love Happy feet, This program is so wonderful. It keeps you moving and everyone is so supportive.
Hello! This is Crystal. I live in Mars with my husband, 2 daughters, 2 dogs and my daughter’s bearded dragon. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in October 2021. I had 10 radiation treatments and 6 rounds of chemo. Between the pain from the cancer and the treatment, it left me pretty weak for almost a year. I am currently back to work full-time, but continue to feel fatigue. I have lower back pain from the cancer that I live with every day. I find it hard to get moving due to the pain. This weather makes it especially difficult for me to get moving. I’m hoping to gain some more energy and motivation to get moving again. I look forward to meeting everyone and being held accountable. I hope we can all support each other in our journey.
Hi – I’m Chris. I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer in October 2004 and then with Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer in October 2007. I’ve been living with NED (no evidence of disease) since June 2010 and no further treatment. I’m hoping to keep NED with me for a very long time! I have 4 adult children, 3 lovely granddaughters and a grandson expected in March. I don’t worry about things too much since worry does nothing good for me. I live each day as it comes and face things when needed. I’ve also been pretty active with my walking routine (currently helping with training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon).
Hello. My name is Denise. I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer 5 years ago. I have had 24 chemo treatments over the years and 2 surgeries. I have a 3 month check in with my oncologist next week – always makes me nervous! I am looking forward to participating with the Happy Feet program and hope it motivates me to get moving! Looking forward to meeting everyone and hearing your stories on Zoom. Take care, Denise
Hi everyone,
My name is Patti. I live in Monroeville with my husband and my darling little Shih Tzu, Bella Mia. I was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2004. After many complications, including a punctured lung after several failed attempts on the part of a surgical resident to insert a central line, and three subsequent surgeries to repair the punctured lung, including an open lung biopsy surgery to figure out why my oxygen saturation was in the 70’s, then an almost two-month stint on a ventilator, including a tracheotomy surgery, I learned how to stand, then walk again, regain my finger dexterity, etc. due to the excellent care I received from both physical and occupational therapists during my 5 week in-patient rehab stay at Healthsouth.
Nine months later, in 2005, I had a matched unrelated donor bone marrow transplant at Cleveland Clinic. My husband and I lived in Cleveland for six months, as the treatment protocol required that I couldn’t be more than 1 hour away from the hospital. During those 6 months, I had 5 different in-patient stays – the first was a 30-day hospitalization to receive the intensive nine-day intravenous chemo regimen, and four other hospitalizations were due to a central line infection, then graft vs host disease of the esophagus and intestine, a fungus infection of both lungs, and a sepsis infection.
Once we returned to Pittsburgh, it was a long road to recovery. The transplant was successful; I had a good engraftment. However, I’m immunocompromised as a result and live somewhat isolated, especially since the advent of the pandemic. I also have other issues as a result of my treatment that I deal with on a continual basis. I am grateful for programs such as this; they not only provide a way to connect with others who know what it’s like to endure the trials of cancer and its potential complications, they also provide excellent tools and resources from which to thrive in spite of all that’s been endured.
Thank you to all who are choosing to accompany me on this Happy Feet Journey. I send my best wishes to each of you as we travel this road together.
Hi Everyone! I’m Susan and on 1/4/23 had a lumpectomy for Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer stage 1A, but this is my second time. This is my second primary cancer, it’s not a recurrence. Last time, 6 years ago I gave a good try with the estrogen depleting drugs, the Aromatase Inhibitors but didn’t do well at all so I stopped. Now I’m seriously searching for more natural ways to deplete my estrogen and after watching Dr. Colin Champ’s video presentation I feel encouraged. I’m 76 and my husband and I still bicycle 20 miles, hike, and kayak. I don’t want to lose those abilities and I so very much want to see my grands grow. I wish you all the best.
Hello Everyone! I’m Rachel. I’m 41 years old and from Illinois. This will be my third time participating in the Happy Feet Program. Last time I had a lot of health issues going on and couldn’t attend all the zoom meetings like I did the first time I participated in the program. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone in the zoom meetings this time and excited for all the speakers. A little more about me. I was diagnosed with stage 4 bilateral inflammatory breast cancer in November of 2021 with metastasis to my spine, a few ribs, and lymph nodes. I did 4 AC chemo infusion. 12 Taxol chemo infusions. Then on Christmas Eve of 2021 I suffered a stroke due to the chemo. I recovered mostly from that with occupational therapy. Although, I still have issues with using my right hand. I’m currently on oral treatments for my cancer now. Ibrance, Letrozole, and monthly Zoladex injections. Sorry for rambling but I like to introduce myself completely and my story and my lines of treatment in case there’s someone else in the group going through the same thing.
Hello everyone! I’m Patti, I live in Pittsburgh with my amazing husband and lovable black lab, who have been my rocks in this cancer journey. I was diagnosed with Stage 3B Ovarian cancer 6/19/2020, had surgery and frontline chemo. A recurrence was found in a couple of my abdominal lymph nodes had surgery again May 2022 with chemo and targeted therapy following. I’m still on targeted therapy which is causing fatigue and joint pain. I’m excited about Happy Feet, I think I can learn some things and it will hold me accountable to keep moving.
Hi – I’m Helen. I live in Pittsburgh, Carrick neighborhood (up the hill from South Side). I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2019, age 76. It will be three years in April since surgery, and two years in May since I finished chemo.
Hi,
This is Janet Marlatt here. I had Stage III Endometrial Cancer treated with hysterectomy, chemo, radiation and brachytherapy. With in a year the cancer recurred so my only option was more surgery(pelvic exenteration and vaginal reconstruction), more complications and more surgery(left kidney removed, fem-fem bypass. But I’ve been cancer free for over 6 years now and the cancer is gone.
I live in Whitehall with my husband Curt and our two dogs Copper and Jacob Black (yes, Jake is Black, fit and handsome!!)
My name is Selena and I live in Canonsburg, PA with my hubby and dog Bruno. I have two sons ages 32 and 20. I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2014 and had a stem cell transplant and immunotherapy. I had complications (sepsis from port, broken arm, bowel rupture, and fungal infection in my lung) but I am still here. I been in remission since 2019 and monitor my labs because I may need treatment again soon. I recently completed PhD nursing education and retired from an insurance job as a nurse case manager I worked at for 19 years. Now, I teach one day a week at a local college for nursing, do vaccine clinics (flu and covid) one day a week when available, and work 3-4 days a week at hospital case management department through an agency.Even though I retired I stay busy lol. I plan on taking 2 weeks off end of February to have a massage day, movie day, and shopping day to feel like I am semi-retired.