I met her when my kids were competing in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association. Her name is Michele Longabaugh. I must add here that i had heard about Michele long before i actually met her. All good things of course.
Her husband, Jerry, is a very outgoing awesome guy who happened to be announcing a rodeo held at Kingman, Kansas. He is very funny and kept us entertained the whole rodeo. You would have been shocked to know that his family was facing a very tough road as his wife had recently found out that she had Stage 4 Annal Cancer. I did not know Michele at the time, but was very saddened that one of our rodeo family members was facing such a tough battle.
Over the course of the rodeo season i would hear bits and peices of Michele's journey and kept her in my prayers along the way. I finally had the opprotunity some time later to meet Michele and was absolutely amazed by her! After all she had been through she had a smile on her face and was a pure joy to speak to.
I immediately befriended her on facebook and began to receive her status updates. It was there that i stumbled on to a blog that Michele keeps detailing the journey that she has been on while fighting her battle with cancer. I have followed this blog for quite some time and can not express just how much of an inspiration this lady is to me. I may not know Michele very well, but i do know that she has an amazing story to tell and has touched many many people's lives with her ability to fight with such a positive attitude.
I encourage you to log onto http://ihavebuttwhat.tumblr.com/ and follow Michele's journey. I also ask that you keep Michele in your prayers as she continuely faces many trials along her path.
Here is a little write up about Michele that i found on the internet:
My name is Michele I am a wife and mother of three grown children. I am a registered nurse and small business owner in the midwest. I sell pacemakers and defibrillators for Biotronik Inc.
I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Anal Cancer in February 2010. I asked my OB-Gyn doctor to check what I thought was a hemorrhoid flare up at my routine pap smear visit, and discovered it was actually two tumors. My constant sciatica was found to be caused by a golf ball sized tumor growing out of my sacral bone. Not only was I diagnosed with a rare form of cancer; I had a rare form of metastasis located in my bone. After surgery to remove the sacral tumor I received simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation; two rounds of chemo lasting 96 hours each and seven weeks of radiation that resulted in my hospitalization for the last two weeks of treatment for pain control.
I baffled them all when I went into remission last year; I have just passed my one-year anniversary. The thing about anal cancer is that it is a cancer “below the belt”. Not only is it rare, there is definitely an unwarranted shame attached to it. I overcame the shame and humiliation and decided to fight the stigma. I did not have one risk factor when I was diagnosed. I thought I had a hemorrhoid and sciatic pain. I was wrong. My “well woman” doctor appointment saved my life!
These days, I try not to take any medications unless absolutely necessary. I eat to try to keep weight on and am limited by the damage radiation has inflicted on my digestive system. I exercise and try to increase my strength.
My current goal is to raise awareness for not only anal cancer but all cancers that exist “below the belt”. People need to be educated. Doctors need to be screening patients. I am talking and I can’t shut up…I won’t shut up! My hope is that no one ever suffers from anal cancer and if they do they get early diagnosis and treatment.
I would have liked to have a support group...a real one for folks like me. If I had been diagnosed with breast cancer resources would have been crawling out of the woodwork for me. There seems to be a stigma associated with these "below the belt" cancers and resources for emotional support are scarce.
I started a blog that logs my entire story from diagnosis to today. My hope is to shatter the stigma and fight the loneliness that accompanies this devastating type of cancer. You can visit my blog titled I have Butt What. My story was recently published into a book, proceeds from each book will go to cancer research ($1/book).
* IF ANY OF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING MICHELE'S BOOK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL GET YOU THE INFORMATION TO DO SO.
No comments:
Post a Comment