Stacy's Warriors

        It was June 2007 when Stacy discovered a suspicious lump in her right breast. Knowing her body she immediately started the process of investigating the lump. The following day she scheduled a mammogram which was followed up by a sonogram. The results of those tests landed her in the surgeons office awaiting the diagnosis. The phrase “You have cancer” is a life changing three words, but in true Stacy form her response was, “Our boys lives don’t change.” This statement and promise to protect the well-being of her sons during a time of personal struggle is a true testament to what a truly special person Stacy is. Stacy underwent a battery of tests to determine her course of treatment. These tests concluded that a single mastectomy would be necessary. During the surgery it was revealed that the cancer had moved into the lymph nodes denoting a stage two cancer. The next course of action was 5 months of extensive chemotherapy. Acting in accordance with her promise, Stacy scheduled her chemo treatments mid week so she would feel her best on weekends and could throw on a wig to attend her son’s sporting events. The 5 months of chemotherapy beat her up but her drive and spirit along with the support of family and friends pulled her through.

        By January of 2008, Stacy had gone through more than six months of surgeries and treatments and was on the road to recovery. That recovery would require quarterly visits to her oncologist for routine blood work to monitor her cancer markers. These visits became routine until October of 2012 when after weeks of not feeling well Stacy went to the ER. The ER doctor on duty said the pains mimic gall bladder disease but suggested a CAT scan due to her medical history. His foresight may have saved her life because the scan revealed metastatic cancer in her sternum, spine and clavicle. We were not prepared for this diagnosis; it hit us all even harder than the first. We were all in shock and the troops gathered to make this right. We were referred to an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering who was a family friend of our dear friend. The visit to Dr. Andrew Seidman revitalized a very weary family and instilled hope into what we thought was a dire situation. Stacy walked out of that visit a different person and she vowed that she would do everything she could to make sure that someday others would not have to deal with breast cancer. That doctor’s visit was more than two and a half years ago and Stacy’s Warriors, which started as a group of family friends walking at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Jones Beach, has grown every year since.