On June 20, I’ll be pedaling through the Pioneer Valley as part of the Bikes Fight Cancer community—riding to support patients, families, and caregivers impacted by cancer. Every dollar I raise helps fund essential cancer care services and supports hospitals advancing life-saving cancer research.
LOVE BIKES. HATE CANCER.
Friends/family - Please read about why I joined this ride below and consider a donation to this cause. Funding cancer research is so important and saves lives. I've also included Alyson's story as told by her - with funding from organizations such as this, the advancements in treatment and prognosis of so many has improved dramatically.
"I'm just going to throw this story out there, partly for posterity, partly because there are many of you I don't see or speak to often that may not know what's been going on.
I suppose I should start with my wonderful mama, who lost her life at the age of 49 from a third battle with breast cancer which began at the age of 39. My family history prompted me to pursue genetic testing, and last April I learned that I carry the BRCA2 gene mutation. Only a short while later in September 2022, I found a lump in my breast during a self breast exam which turned out to be cancerous. Because of my gene mutation, it was recommended that I undergo a bilateral mastectomy, to remove the cancerous tumors (there were multiple), and reduce the risk of recurrence.
The hardest part for me was very quickly weaning my kids. Breastfeeding has been an integral part of motherhood for me, and although I never planned to, I nursed for six straight years. I'm very grateful for that bonding time with Ruth and Maeve.
After the surgery, pathology came back with a recommendation that chemotherapy was not necessary, and I ended the year on a cancer-free note.
And then in early January, I learned, unexpectedly, that I was pregnant with Liv. As you can imagine, this joyful news was entwined with fear and anxiety, because my cancer fed on the estrogen in my body and, well, pregnancy brings on a whole lot of estrogen. I had also just experienced a miscarriage during the time of my surgery, and I was afraid I wouldn't have the third child I always wanted.
Many of you were perhaps surprised with Liv's birth, because right about the time I entered my second trimester, I discovered an enlarged lymph node in my left axilla, and having a rediagnosis of cancer in addition to a pregnancy announcement was news I wasn't ready to share.
My oncology and obstetrics care transferred to Beth Israel Deaconness in Boston. With no way of knowing if the cancer had spread further than the one node, doctors were pretty aggressive with the treatment plan – chemotherapy followed by a complete axillary dissection and radiation of the area (the latter two post delivery). Fortunately, I was entering the second trimester of pregnancy, and with no statistically significant evidence that chemotherapy would harm the baby, I started treatment right away.
By late March, I started the first of four treatments of AC (Adriamycin-Cytoxan). Thankfully, I handled the chemo with little to no side effects, apart from the hair loss, and I (and the kids) enjoyed rocking way too many colorful wigs! And even more amazingly, by the third treatment, my enlarged lymph node shrunk back to a normal size. I continued weekly chemo treatments of Taxol throughout the summer to get through the pregnancy, which continued without complications.
Liv was born appropriately on Labor Day, two and a half weeks early, a perfectly healthy 7-and-a-half-pound baby. She was by far my easiest delivery, which might have had something to do with an epidural and a 4.5-hour labor.
I was off for the fall semester for maternity leave, and after Liv was born, I underwent surgery on my left axilla to remove all the lymph nodes. By God’s grace and modern medicine, all came back clean. Just to be safe, I underwent 16 days of radiation therapy which ended shortly before our trip out to Colorado for Christmas. So for the second year in a row, hopefully for real this time, I'm going to say I'm officially cancer free!
Although we pronounce Liv's name with a short i, it is a Norwegian name, natively pronounced like "leave." Liv means "life" in Norwegian. As my sister so beautifully put it when we shared our news:
"Her name is perfect. A constant reminder of your strength and your will to live, to fight for your family, for Liv." (Thank you, Katy.)
So here we are at the end of 2023, and we're ready for a less complicated year. Our road is not over yet, but I'm on the down slope. In a few days I'm having an oophorectomy (hello menopause!), and probably over the summer, finally, the second half of my reconstruction surgery. I've had an amazing team of doctors and nurses take care of me this past year+, but I simply would not have survived without all the help that was offered to us. I owe you all so many thanks.
My mother-in-law, Kathleen Hildum, came to stay more times than I can count on two hands, helping to watch the kids when I had chemo appointments in Boston. Brendan and I even had the opportunity to escape on a few kid-free dates, thanks to Mammy. So many of my wonderful neighbors also helped to watch Ruth while I was in Boston during the summer, even taking them for a few hours in the evening so I could get a break. Jennifer and Eian deserve a special shout-out since we might have eaten as many meals at their house this summer as our own. Thank you to William Hyde, who drove 2 hours from CT to my house (and then 2 hours back) to cut my hair when it was really falling out. To Kimberly Smith who took me to my first Taxol appointment when Brendan had to return to work. To Katy, who flew out to help even though her own baby boy was soon facing a surgery of his own. To Kristin, who always listened to me vent and organized an amazing spa weekend late in the pregnancy. To my OB, Dr Zera, who constantly told me to be gentle with myself, and reminded me that it was okay to have a little help (a healthy dose of Zoloft works wonders). To all my friends and family who visited or sent messages of support. To Ruth and Maeve, who helped me have fun through hair loss with all the multicolor wigs. But more importantly, they gave me strength and hope and determination, and made me laugh and smile everyday (even though they drove me crazy nearly every day). To Liv, for giving me one more life to live for.
And then there's my amazing husband, Brendan, who lived every moment of our life this year by my side. And I know he'll be there every moment ahead, whatever the future may bring. I plan to be around for it."