My Daughter's Wedding

You may think that my daughter's wedding has no relationship to my breast cancer website, but personally, it has a lot to do with it.

Kristen was a senior in college, out of state, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was finishing her degree, lived 4 hours away, was sorting job offers out of state, and I ruined the family's Christmas with my diagnosis. Throughout the course of my breast cancer treatments, she was my rock. She would come home weekends, as often as possible. She called almost daily. She always managed to ask coherent questions, cried with me when needed, made me laugh when appropriate, and always put things in perspective for me. She offered to drop out of school for the semester and I told her that was not an option.

We spent 4 wonderful days in Rhode Island, enjoying her graduation festivities. I came home and had my last chemo session the day after graduation.

She is my only daughter and I was concerned about her health risks in the future. I spoke to a genetic counselor who explained that if I was tested and found to have a mutation of the BRCA 1 or 2 genes, she would also have to be tested. If she was found to have the gene mutation, that only meant that she was at higher risk and should be monitored carefully. Would the knowledge put us over the edge? Would it have ramifications for our health insurance? Privacy issues? Would she take a "wait and see" attitude or demand some prophylactic surgery of hormonal intervention? She is a wonderfully astute young woman and we decided to just be careful. She does monthly breast self-exam; she eats well, drinks only socially, doesn't smoke and exercises moderately. Her weight is fine. She knows that she should begin having mammograms around age 35 (the general rule of thumb is to have your daughter begin mammos about 10 years before the age you were diagnosed.)

She moved to Chicago for a job, relocated to Baltimore several years later and met Joe. The rest, as they say, is history.

So while you are reading this, I will be in Baltimore, enjoying her pre and post wedding activities and crying hysterically, with joy, at the wedding itself.

My children have always supported my breast cancer advocacy, even if they don't always understand my commitment to the breast cancer community. What makes me the proudest is the decision she and her future husband have made. They decided to forego lavish wedding favors for the guests and instead will donate a significant amount of money to a breast cancer organization of my choice in the name of the guests. I am proud of them and hope the guests appreciate their contribution.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic