Komen Hometown

This last weekend, November 4th was a beautiful but awful early morning. We were up at 430am, the air was cool and crisp, and we cheated with some Whataburger heading down to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Austin. The UT tower was lit orange from the win over Texas Tech and was in the background.

We were there as a sponsor for the race and had a promotional booth. We spoke to thousands of people about who and what we are. The reception we received was exactly what we expected. People were warm, receptive, and listened with real and true attention. It was truly a great personal experience to speak with so many people. Survivors, family, friends, supporters, and fighters all together made for a great morning. My husband also got to spend all morning chatting up the ladies. I assure you, he a completely devoted and committed man to me. He just likes to "keep his skills sharp" for me!

The overwhelming response we heard was, "I just wish this was available X years ago when i had my surgery". We wish we could have been there for them then too, but we are here for cancer fighters now and in the future. People were also really impressed to hear that we are a homegrown, organic Austin business. We had a prize wheel for tee shirts, eye stickers, and candy that was a sucsess. We also gave away one of our Limited Edition Breast Cancer Awareness Brobes embroidered with a pink chevron.

We are very excited to be able to brag about one of our own family members. My nephew Alex Juarez placed 9th overall in the open division of the race with at time of 18:41. Alex is a sophomore in high school in San Antonio currently and is hoping to attend UT for college. We hope to hire him sometime in the future.

The race was a great event for us. The input we receive from people is exactly what we hoped people would think about us, and therefore we know we are doing the right thing. Being a part of this wonderful community, even though the bond is because of an awful disease process, is humbling, inspiring, and an honor. My husband and I would like to thank everyone who we met and talked to for your time.

We are excited to announce the winner of the Brobe raffle was one Bonnie Davis. We are so proud to be able to award her the Brobe and she assures us it will be put to good use. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Bonnie. We will post pictures when we meet Mrs. Davis and give her Brobe to her. To those of you who didn't win, find us on Facebook and like us. We will continue to give away Brobes and tee shirts in the future. Speaking of winning, you may not have won the Komen Austin Race, but you still finished! Did you see the star of our team, The Brobemobile, at the finish line? If you see the Brobemobile out and about the town, say hi and take a picture. Just don't bother the Brobemobile if you see it eating lunch somewhere with its kids. (Get it? Its a car).

The Effects Cancer Has

I went to Houston this past week for a couple of reasons. I had a meeting with the Appearances Mastectomy Boutique at MD Anderson Hospital as well as a 2 day Breast Health Summit conference. There have been a few times in my life where I actually felt I was in the right place at the right time for the right reason. Not only do I feel I was suppose to be at this conference to introduce the Recovery Brobe to so many nurses, state workers, and non-profits, but I know I was supposed to be there to meet a few certain women.

In the couple of years since creating the Recovery Brobe I have heard from countless women about the pain that comes with the surgery, i.e. the drains, the hot flashes, and the general discomfort. I could sympathize with them and was happy to have created something to make their lives a bit easier but never REALLY empathize with the emotion, the strain, and the helplessness behind having cancer.

I met a women this past week, lets call her Jane. Do you ever meet those people who just have good energy? You know within seconds of meeting them they are good people. You just want to be in there presence because you just feel good when around them. That is how Jane is. She is a widow, a mom, a businesswoman, and a chaplain. Jane is also surviving a very rare type of cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer and is about to finish her last chemo treatment tomorrow. She has had a double mastectomy and is choosing not to have reconstruction because she likes her "perky lil boobies" she can take in and out. While Jane and I talked, me drinking a martini, she drinking water, it opened my eyes to things I had not thought about before. Jane proceeded to tell me she never gets sick and she does not come from a family with cancer. One afternoon her breast became very swollen and she thought she may have had an infection. While in the doctors office she laid on a table, the doctor looked over her breast on a screen. Without any emotion, the doc says "you have a very rare type of cancer and the chances for survival are slim." That's it. He didn't even look at Jane as he walked out the door. She got up, got dressed, and called her friend to say she just found out she is going to die.

Do you ever hear stories and envision yourself in the story? I did. I thought "how would I say those words?" How would I tell my husband, my mom, my friends and my daughters? I started tearing up as she was telling me this because it is something no one should ever have to say. Yet, people have to say it everyday. Even now, it tears me up just even thinking about that situation.

Jane also talked about how her daughter reacted. Her daughter just found out she was pregnant the day Jane told her she had cancer. Jane explained the anger & the hurt her daughter felt and still feels. I try to put myself in the daughters shoes. My mother is the one person I have looked up to my whole life. She is my rock, my mentor, and my best friend. How would I feel if she told me she was sick and going to die? My world would come crashing down.

Jane talked about after her treatments how sick she would be. She hid how sick she was from her family and friends. She told me how sometimes her daughter would call and ask how she was doing. Jane would have just thrown up in her bed because she couldn't make it to the bathroom. In a very sweet voice she would say to her daughter, "I'm great" just to save her child from the heartache. Again, I thought if that were me, I also would say anything, even lie, to protect my baby from knowing the hard, sad truth.

Jane spoke about going back to work. She would be giving presentations and literally throwing up or having diarrhea in front of everyone because it would come out of nowhere. She had no control. I can't imagine the humiliation that brings and how strong a person has to be to just pick themselves up and show up again and again.  Sickness, no matter what kind it is is terrifying, trying, exhausting, and confusing.  Thank you Jane for opening my eyes from a different perspective and adding to another reason why we need to come together and beat this disease.