My journey with a pheochromocytoma, rare neuroendocrine tumor was a battle I never expected to fight. The uncertainty of each day... it was overwhelming. But I strangely found a way to keep living and not give up in a bike a thon! I had no idea the adventure it would take me on or how it would influence me in other ways to help.
It’s very hard to explain the feelings you have when you hear your life is on the line, your chances of survival a small percentage. Having to share with my children the great possibility I would not survive was something I never imagined. And then again. 8 months later having to tell them their dad was diagnosed with cancer. We were lucky then (if you can say that when you have a cancer diagnosis.) His cancer was caught early and his prognosis was good.
The emotions are overwhelming seeing your family member struggle because of an invisible monster. There is so much you want to do yet you feel completely powerless. I didn’t know all the emotions my family felt when I was sick until my husband’s diagnosis and they all came flooding back when we learned my father-in-law had cancer, he passed a couple of months ago and those emotions are still very raw.
It is with a heavy heart that I update my profile and register for year 11. On January 1st 2025 at 6:01pm we lost a good friend, Stevie. He was the best man at my wedding, the godfather to my son but he was so much more to us, he was family. The loss of Stevie will be felt by many as he was a a firefighter and dedicated his life to serving others as a Marine, as a Medic and as a Captain on the Brockton Fire Dept. Steve’s legacy lives on in his two great kids Ava 18 and Alex 16. It is for them that I continue to raise money for research and to bring awareness to this cause.
I’ve learned through this journey; when one family member fights, WE all fight. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the reasons why I PMC.
I’ve turned what I thought was a negative experience into a positive. Without the Pan Mass I’m not sure I’d be where I am now helping others through support, advocacy and education Currently, I support other people with my type of tumor as peer support volunteer with the Pheo Para Alliance and I share the importance of early cancer detection with DetecTogehter as a presenter of the program 3 Steps Detect a road map to early cancer detection. I am grateful to be able to share my experience with the hope of helping others and hopefully a day families stop fighting cancer.
A donation to a PMC rider 100% goes to Dana Farber and The Jimmy Fund help with research, support and most importantly it brings HOPE. Thank you for your help - We are all a spoke in the wheel in this fight.
