Update # 23, Pink sisters

Hello all,

This past week (Feb. 12th - 17th) I met the two most amazing women.  My new pink sisters, Jen and Jenn.  I was trying to figure out a way not to confuse you since the 3 of us all have the same first name.  So to re-remind you, I'll try this: 

 "S" Jen (survivor Jen) had cancer 4 years ago. She has a blog which I followed during my chemo treatments, surgery, and currently. 
Jenn was recently diagnosed with breast cancer in January.  She's the one I asked you all to pray for on her 1st day of chemo back on February 8th.

Ok, have I confused you yet?  :)

So, in the last week, I've managed to meet both of them in person and it was AWESOME!!!  Let me tell you about the Jen's,
my new Pink Sisters.

I met with "S" Jen last Sunday on my birthday and it just made my day even more special.  She's been spending a lot of time with and helping out Jenn and the fact that she took time out of her busy weekend to meet with me, meant so much.  She is a wealth of knowledge and has met a ton of ladies who have fought the cancer battle.  Just talking to her about her experience and my experience was so interesting.  Seeing how healthy she looked really inspired me.  She's been cancer free for 4 years and she actually has beautiful healthy hair past her shoulders.  That just seems so unrealistic to me.  I had a ton of questions and she provided lots of answers.   We chatted and laughed and I'm just so glad that we had the chance to meet and I hope to keep in touch with her as I continue my journey.

Friday, before my radiation appointment I met up with Jenn.  I also really enjoyed meeting her.  She had chemo 9 days ago and she looked fabulous!   I was so impressed.  Even though we have the same cancer, triple negative, her's is in stage IV so her doctors gave her a different chemo cocktail and treatment schedule.  I think she gets 6 chemo treatments once every 3 weeks for a total of 18 weeks whereas I had 12 chemo treatments, once every other week for 8 weeks and weekly for 8 weeks for a total of 16 weeks.  So that's what baffles our minds.  We know that everyone in this world is different but how can everyone have so many different treatments and how do the doctors know what treatment will work for a specific person?  So we compared notes, stories, the whirlwind effect (how fast it is from diagnosis to the 1st chemo treatment), talked about our children and even laughed about silly stuff.  The time just flew by and we both had to run off to our appointments.

What makes my meeting with the Jen's different than going to my breast cancer support group is, at my support group, we are limited to a 1 1/2 hour get together once a month.  I see these girls but when we leave the meeting, I don't see them again till next time.   It's great for therapy and very helpful but I still have so many questions.  Being there only twice, I haven't really felt a connection to anyone yet.  But both Jen's have given me their e-mail addresses and we e-mail each other frequently.  I also follow both of their blogs and can relate to every step of their journey.

So speaking of blogs, yesterday I happen to read "S" Jen's blog where she wrote a post about Jenn's shave party.  It was an instant flashback to my pixie/buzz party.  That day was incredibly emotional for me and as I read "S" Jen's blog, it was just as emotional for Jenn too.  If you think about it, how can buzzing off your hair, not be traumatic?  I remember panicking to the point that I had to have my girlfriends with me.  I just couldn't accept that I was really going to loose my hair.  But a few weeks after chemo, I certainly did.  Like me, Jenn took matters in her own hands as well by shaving off her hair before chemo takes it.  And believe me, cutting it short like that helped me considerably.  Because when mine did finally fall out, it didn't even look like my hair so it wasn't as traumatic as it could have been had I left it long.

I feel a connection to both the Jen's and I appreciate the fact that they met up with me and has helped me by just being a friend.  We all share breast cancer together and they will forever be my *pink sisters*. 

Love,
Jen