Here is Part 2 of our I AM A SURVIVOR feature with A B Wallace. 

What helped you through the rough times?

The love of a good man, my husband Walt.  The comfort and love our three dogs gave me during this difficult time, and the love of our sweet sun conure. They have always been my strength.  They just make me feel like a million dollars no matter how I look or how I feel.  The warmth of my family and friends.  And laughter.  I watched Frasier every night before I went to bed.  The episodes just made me laugh and laugh.  I felt great and was able to go to bed with a smile on my face. 

What have you learned the most during the journey?

I learned the meaning of the word journey as it pertains to my cancer.  That it’s whatever you want it to be, that you determine what your journey will be.  For me the most important question I had was “how much time do I have?”  My journey taught me that it’s not the amount of time one has, but how you use the time you do have.  I hope to have many, many good years ahead of me. 

How did you feel when you heard the words “remission”?  How long have you been in remission? 

The first time I heard the word “remission” was a couple of weeks ago from my husband.  He was talking to someone on phone and mentioned my cancer was in remission.  Funny, I remember hearing the word remission in the past, on tv and in many discussions about cancer, but in my case, the word “remission” never came up.  All my treatments were weapons being used against the cancer in hopes of stopping it from returning.  I’ve been clear of cancer since my surgery in 2006.  There has been no sign of cancer in my body since then.  I’m very happy to say I’ve been free of cancer for two and a half years.   

Has this battle affected you writing in any way?

Oh, yes.  I’ve written very little during this time.  I’m not sure how to put it, but I lost that magical world within myself, that world that makes anything possible.  My insides were blank sheets of paper I just never wanted to bother with.  And I’m still fighting this.  It is getting better though.  I have started writing again. 

What would you advise a newly diagnosed woman if you were given the chance?

I expected the diagnoses and treatments to be devastating, far more difficult than it actually was.  Don’t let the cancer take over your life.  Instead, live your life even though you have or have had cancer.   

What are your new life goals?

My new life goals are to enjoy the time I have with our critters, enjoy the time I have with my hubby, and do everything possible to do this for as long as I can.  I’ll write because I love it, and no longer worry about making a career of it.  I’ll live my life, and explore what that is with my husband, family, friends, and my lovely critters too.  A chi-mix joined our family January of 2008.  We adopted her from a rescue organization.  Whenever we’ve lost a loved one, we brought a new life into our family.  Now we brought a new life in our family to celebrate life.  My life.  Their lives.  And that’s how I’d like us to live, by celebrating it every chance we get. 

I would like to thank A B Wallace for taking time to be a part of I AM A SURVIVOR feature. I’m hoping to do this on a monthly basis at first and increase as I get more survivors interviewed. If you are one or know someone who is a survivor of Breast Cancer please contact me.

Today is the first of what I hope to be many features of women who are fighting or have fought Breast Cancer. Today is the first Part of my 2 Part interview with author of VINTAGE BLOOD AND SACRED SCEPTERS, A B Wallace.  

What was a typical day in your life before breast cancer entered it?

I didn’t have a typical day before breast cancer entered it.  After my father’s death, my mother moved in with my husband and I.  She became quite ill and was placed on dialysis.  I was her main caregiver, and assisting her took up most of my energies and became a full-time job.  I treasured the time I had with her, but I also found it very difficult coping with her pending death, especially when she suffered a bleeding stroke in the brain.  After her death I became very depressed, and although the world had become open to me once more, I just couldn’t move forward.  What my husband and I did do was bring another critter into our lives, a baby sun conure.  We wanted to bring a life into our family.  Seemed like the right thing to do after experiencing the death of someone we loved so much. My days were filled with taking care of our dogs, and now a baby sun conure.  Unfortunately, the sun conure became ill, and all the vet visits and everything we did didn’t help.  The sweet little critter died 9 weeks later from kidney failure.  After some thought we decided to bring another sun conure into our lives, and that’s when it happened—I was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

How old were you when you were diagnosed? Did breast cancer run in your family?

I was 51 years old when diagnosed with breast cancer.  Breast cancer did not run in my family. 

How were you diagnosed? Did you discover the lump or was it during a yearly exam?

I have always had lumpy breasts so mammograms and sonograms were a yearly happening for me.  When I reached my late forties, MRI’s were introduced to my yearly check-up.  I had made an appointment with my doctor after my mother’s death so I could catch up with all my medical check-ups (I’d not done anything for a year and a half).  It was during this time that I felt an unusually large lump in my right breast.  I’d already made my appointment and this lump had seemed to grow larger over night.  When I saw my doctor, she suggested I get a biopsy.  She thought it was cancer.  And I must admit I felt it could be as well.  On a personal note, something I’ve not shared with many.  I had a close relationship with our golden retriever.  He was very special to us.  I’ve always believed dogs had the ability to detect cancer in people.  My golden consistently poked my right breast with his nose.  Just before he died he’d poked at my right breast with such force he caused me some pain.  Three years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I’m sure he was trying to tell me that something just didn’t smell right, and this action on his part caused me to pay more attention.  If not for him, I doubt I would have paid as much attention to lumps in my breast as I did.   

What was the first thought that went through your head when you heard the doctor’s diagnosis?

When my doctor said she thought I had breast cancer and I thought the same, part of me just kept thinking, I’ve gone through this before.  The biopsy will come back negative.  It’s not cancer.  If I had cancer they would have discovered it earlier.  It would have shown up before now.  When I received the phone call from the people who did the biopsy and I was told the biopsy showed I had moderately invasive breast cancer, I burst into tears, then I hung up phone looked around room and said, god, no.  Please, no more.  Then I called my husband and asked him to come home.   

What kind of treatments did you undergo?

Mastectomy with a tram reconstruction.  Five months of chemotherapy.  One year of herceptin, and five years of estragon therapy.  I’m still undergoing estragon therapy. 

What was a typical day for you during your treatment?

Typical day after surgery—I’d wake up, go to bathroom, drain pods and record measurement of fluids, take pain medicines, sleep and then start all over again next time I woke up.  I ate sometimes, I’m sure.  Several weeks later, I did the above except I came downstairs, spent time with dogs and hand fed our sun conure as well.  After pods were removed, and chemotherapy began, my typical day consisted of my taking walks outside, building my strength up so that I could walk the dogs twice a day, hand feed our sun conure three times a day, get chemotherapy, and so on.  I was very fortunate for my husband went to chemotherapy with me for entire five months, and when he wasn’t able to my relatives and friends did so.  By time I started herceptin, I was able to get a part-time job as a dog walker.  My typical day then was I’d get up, spend time with my sweeties, hand feed sun conure, go out and walk dogs, come home walk my dogs, do some grocery shopping, and so on.

I am proud to announce the first guest at my “I AM A SURVIVOR” feature is none other than best selling author of VINTAGE BLOOK AND THE SACRED SCEPTERS, A B Wallace. Here is a little bit about Ms Wallace

The early days, A. B. Wallace’s interests centered around dancing, school, and work.

Reading and writing were monstrous creatures she dreaded. Then one day, a strange form of enlightenment struck. (She believes it may have been lightening but is still unsure.) From that day forth a reader was born and the imagination sparked to life. She has been writing ever since and her husband now wonders to whom he has been married for over thirteen years. Her mother, although proud of her daughter’s accomplishments, ponders on occasion if A. B. Wallace is the same daughter she gave birth to. But her three dogs are absolutely sure of A. B. Wallace’s identity. (She believes it has something to do with who feeds and walks them.)

Since that fateful day, several of her short stories have been published in various literary magazines, on the internet, and in anthologies. Signed copies of her first novel, THE MARK OF THE WEREWOLF, can be ordered at Shocklines. And her second novel, VINTAGE BLOOD and the SACRED SCEPTERS, has been released by LBF Books, and can be ordered at http://lbfbooks.com.

A.B. WALLACE was born in Italy but has lived in the United States since she was five years old. She has a B.A. in Sociology from St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, has worked as a Case Worker for the Hudson County Division of Welfare in Jersey City and has held several administrative positions with the Federal Government in Washington. She now lives in Virginia.  

For more information about A B Wallace visit her site click here and to purchase a copy of her book click here 

I have decided to take my commitment to Breast Cancer one step further. How you might ask? Well it’s quite easy I want to start a monthly or maybe a weekly blog where I interview Breast Cancer survivors. I want to give these wonderful women a chance to speak of their courageous fight and hopefully help another who is reading the blog.

Who do I want to interview? Doctors, professionals, writers, stay at home moms? If it were up to me I’d interview and feature them all. I just want to give their voice a bigger audience.

So if you are a survivor of Breast Cancer please email me leeann_burke@hotmail.com or simply post a comment on this blog saying you’d like to be featured/interviewed.