One month later, Susanna was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. S Assistant Surgeon General, Dr. Susan Blumenthal, guided her to Mass General and the renowned surgeon, Dr. Whitfield Growdon, who saved her life. And dark roots and chipped nails make me feel shitty even in the best of circumstances.
So, four days after my cancer diagnosis, I got my hair colored, nails done, bought a new blazer and I forced myself to exercise. How could I be dying, if I could play tennis? I had doctors to meet and I wanted to look healthy, strong and like I was ready to fight. The Wobbles turned into cancer warriors. Griffin, a survivor herself after her fight with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer, knew all too well the pain Quinn was experiencing.
Thank God, my friends and family encouraged me to go to a comprehensive cancer center and get a third opinion. A plane flight and a miracle led me to Whitfield Growdon, MD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the leading cancer centers in the world. Growdon is an expert in identifying new treatments for cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer. Growdon saves lives. He fought for my life as he does for all of his patients.
He had the determination and the skill to perform an aggressive surgery that removed the many tumors that had spread rapidly throughout my system. He did not stop until all of my cancer was gone. Instead, I am living a full, happy and healthy life that has been gifted to me by the work of Dr. I can ride my bike with my children, cook dinners, cuddle with my family and spend time with my generous, loving, amazing friends — old and new — who have helped me along this journey.
I have so much for which to be grateful, starting with Dr. He has treated me like family — and this is how he is with all his patients. His courage, skill and encouragement saved my life. Please join me in investing in Dr. I had to go back in for emergency surgery. Whit and Dr. I had so many surgeries and procedures that I lost count. The all-consuming pain felt like it was my yesterday, today and forever.
I want to die. My diagnosis was stage three and not stage four as I was initially told cancer. I spent thirty-one nights at Mass General. The Wobbles created a calendar to make sure that at least one friend and often two or three was always with me. If you have ever dealt with a major illness, you know how very important it is to have an advocate with you.
Someone with you each day, holding your hand and reminding you that you will get well, you will go outside again and walk in the woods, sing Holy Grail off-tune in the car with your daughter, cook dinner for your family, cuddle in bed with your son over a Magic Treehouse book and ski and play tennis again. This I know for certain: the love of my friends was as key to saving my life as was the brilliant and fearless surgical assault led by Dr.
Growdon on my cancer. In the worst moments, when hope seemed beyond reach, they made me connect with my intrinsic desire to live. If you were any more loved, the world would explode.
You got this. Mani Pedi? Get blowout? Beat cancer? Thank u, next! We love you and will help you fight this stupid cancer with everything we have. On my thirty first day in the hospital, I had my first chemo and was finally released. Stephanie, Kristin and Elizabeth were all there to help me fly home. Jack and Storm were in the driveway to greet me. What followed in the ensuing months was a difficult journey. Chemo, followed by more surgeries, followed by weight loss, dehydration, and more pain.
The cancer battle has a will of its own; when you start to feel invincible, it shows up and tries to break you again. I was diagnosed with the BRCA2 gene. Having lost my mother to breast cancer, it was a test that I wish I had done earlier in life as I could have taken steps to avoid cancer. I was finally declared cancer free after eight surgeries and four months of chemo.
The brutality of cancer is breath-taking. You are cut open, you are poked and prodded, you go through pain that you could not have imagined, you are put in hospital diapers, you throw up your guts, you have days that you want to die, you become completely dependent on other people, you are robbed of your dignity and your physical appearance is altered into something unrecognizable.
I was bald with no eyelashes, no eyebrows and a sixteen-inch vertical scar on my abdomen. But through it all, the Wobbles were there. And I owe so much of my healing, and where I am today, to them. They inundated me with smoothies, pastries, sandwiches, and protein drinks. With visits and texts and constant encouragement. With determination. And with hope. I do not remember a time that I was not listening to an encouraging word or holding a loving hand. I am living proof to the studies that show that having support makes you more likely to conquer cancer.
I am incredibly blessed to have survived and for all the resources and support that I had. I do not think there is any rhyme or reason to my fate. There is pain and suffering all over the world far worse than anything I have ever endured. Was it possible to love deeper that I already have? I am not sure. But I can love more selectively.
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