January 2009

Dear Friends & Family,

Well, 2008 was a difficult year, and while we are pretty happy to move on to 2009, there are still many good memories and things to be grateful for in 2008.

At the end of January 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. February was a whirlwind of tests and panic. Thankfully, the doctors concluded that the cancer had not metastasized and that the goal of the treatments would be to try for a cure. At the beginning of March, I started the first of 8 rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. Then I had a month to rest, followed by surgery in August. Then, another month of rest, followed by 6 weeks of daily radiation treatments. I also decided to have my ovaries out in order to remove the main source of estrogen in my body, since my cancer was fueled by estrogen.

I worked full time during treatment, taking off days here and there for chemo treatments. I had surgery during the summer break, so I only had to miss the first two weeks of school this September. Looking back, even though the treatments were uncomfortable and unpleasant, we still were able to lead a relatively normal life. We went to our town's Easter Egg Hunt, had a fun Mother's Day, Father's Day and July 4th holiday. We were graced by helpful and cheerful visits from dear friends Sandy & Nancy and from my sister and mother and also by constant support from my dear friend Lisa and other special friends from our extended family at Westridge. These visits, combined with helping hands from local friends, Westridge workmates & students, and from the families of Dinah's and Djuna's schoolmates, all added up to a security net that sustained us through the difficult days.

Now, the doctors consider me cancer-free. They do not dub you "cured" until a certain number of years go by with no recurrence or metastasis. I will be taking medicine orally for at least five years, and this is also a blessing because the medicine greatly reduces the chances of a recurrence. I asked for and received aggressive treatments, and if I have anything to say about it, I fully intend to be cured.

Not all breast cancers are found by self-exams or by doctors during a regular checkup. My cancer was more like a thickening and did not feel like a traditional lump at all. In fact, I had just had my regular well-woman exam in December 2007, only three weeks before I was diagnosed with cancer. Clearly, the doctor did not find my cancer. The mammogram did. Please encourage women you love to stay current with their mammograms and checkups.

Overall, I received excellent treatment from the doctors and nurses at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. I also have a terrific primary care physician who helped coordinate my care. I feel lucky and grateful that my workplace has a good insurance policy that gave me access to top-notch medical care. Westridge (the school where I work) was very supportive of me through the entire ordeal.

Through it all, Dwayne was an unflagging support and source of strength. He was a vertitable Energizer Bunny through chemo weekends, often forgetting to eat meals as he kept the household running like clockwork. During it all, he somehow managed to still be a great father and to grow professionally. He was able to pull together a book proposal requested by Random House. He also inked a contract with Village Voice Media -- the company that owns the Village Voice and the L.A. Weekly -- for his cartoons to appear on all the websites of the 16 newspapers the company owns. So, Dwayne is now officially a syndicated cartoonist. In June, he also won an LA Press Club Award for Editorial Cartoon. He was featured twice in Best Life magazine as the No. 1 "Ten Most Important Voices to Listen to This Election Cycle."

Everyday, Dwayne amazes me.

Dinah and Djuna celebrated their fifth birthday this year with a fun party at a local indoor playground. Before that, they finished a great pre-K year at St. Mark's School in Altadena. They had great teachers and grew to love letters and numbers, and this carried over to their new school, where they are having a super time as Kindergarteners! They adore their new teacher and have been able to reconnect with some old friends from their first year of pre-school at Mama Pete's.

Dinah and Djuna love to take gymnastics classes at our local rec. center and art lessons at a local art school. They enjoy riding bikes & scooters around town. They love books, games and especially their collection of animals and Playmobil sets. They love the holidays, and we celebrated in true Sierra Madre style by trick-or-treating in town for Halloween, sledding at the local Dickens Village street festival (they bring in snow and lay down enough snow to sled down a driveway!), and scootering up to town when our local Rose Float set off on its journey from Sierra Madre to the Rose Parade route. Recently we drove up the Angeles Crest Highway and went sledding in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Dinah and Djuna gave me kisses on my bald head when I was undergoing chemotherapy, and then when my hair started growing back, they celebrated with me by petting my fuzzy head. They are amazing kids.

I've been doing the best I can to continue blogging for my site BeTwinned.com, but with everything going on, it was difficult to keep up. But still, I try.

That's about all we can do. Try. And we can be grateful for each minute and every blessing.

Speaking of blessings, many of you who are reading this note sustained us through this long year with prayers, thoughts, encouragement, hugs, phone calls, text messages, e-mails, greeting cards, gifts, DVD loans, flowers, lemons or lemonade brought to work, treats, surprises, dinners, errands and many, many more creative expressions of caring. To say that we are eternally grateful is an understatement. Please know that you made dark days lighter and coping easier. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Wishing each and every one of you reading this note a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy 2009. Please stay in touch.

Warmly,

Diana, Dwayne, Dinah & Djuna
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