In Sandra's Shoes

I just finished the second round of follow-up visits to all my doctors who oversaw my treatment for breast cancer.
I am thrilled to say all is well.
My gynecologist found nothing.
My mammogram showed nothing.
My radiation oncologist said I was doing well.
My oncologist said I was doing well and to continue the tamoxifen regimen.
My surgeon found nothing and gave me some exercises to help improve my range of motion.
And my primary physician is happy that I've followed through and all is going well.
Life is good.

Join the sister study, the radio announcer said this morning as I was driving in. If you've never had breast cancer but your sister has had it, join the study to help determine the effects of the disease in families.

So I checked out the link on the Black America Web. Biological sisters are needed to join the study as well as more African American women. The hope is to double the number of African American women in the study.

Here's what I learned from BAW:

The Sister Study is a nationwide effort to learn the environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer. We need 50,000 women who have never had breast cancer but whose sister has had the disease to participate. Of the 45,000 women who have joined the Sister Study so far, only 3,800 are African American. With your help, we hope to double the number of African American sisters in the Sister Study over the next few months.

If you are a woman between the ages of 35 and 74 years old
and you have never had breast cancer yourself
and you live in the U.S. or Puerto Rico
and your sister (living or deceased), related to you by blood, had breast cancer

(Don’t forget to call 1-877-4SISTER to complete the enrollment process.)

Breast cancer has deadlier results in African American women so information from the study can help save and prolong lives.

Pass it on.

I learned I had unwittingly joined the "C" club one year ago.

I spent the holidays fretting over the surgery and radiation treatment that was to come and creating lots of "what if" scenarios.

Those first few days were so scary because of the unknowns.

But now it's just a memory and I've been able to move on to so many more things. I had lots of support and good wishers.

I was reminded of that yesterday when a colleague dropped off a breast cancer awareness ornament/pin gift to me.

It is beautiful, a silver angel with the pink breast cancer awareness ribbon around her waist. It's hanging on my tree for now but in the new year I'll be wearing it, grateful that what I went through is now just a memory.