“Boob Voyage”

Sending the “Girls” Off In Style

The time from when you get the dreaded “you have breast cancer” phone call til mastectomy day everything is completely surreal. It’s rather indescribable actually. I knew that my diagnosis was real, but part of me couldn’t believe it.  It was consuming almost all of my thoughts and my time.  I got so sick of talking about it, yet it’s the only thing I did talk about.   After all, I spent most of my time researching and meeting with breast surgeons, plastic surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, and genetic counselors. 

On top of all the cancer decisions and surgery prep, I was still the acting CEO of the Rodgers Household.  Like most of us, I needed to oversee all the daily activities of my family including homework duty, meal planning and preparation, cleaning, yardwork, transportation to extracurricular activities and just keeping everyone happy and healthy.  It’s hard enough to be the Lady of the House, without having breast cancer on the brain. I was completely and utterly overwhelmed.  I often needed a quick escape from my new reality.   This is where we enter my friends who very quickly became the keepers of my sanity…

I’d kept my diagnosis very hush-hush and only confided in a few family members and my very best friends. They wanted to know what I needed from them and I needed them to keep me sane (and positive minded).  Absolutely no sappy hallmark moments. No tears. And they were happy to oblige.   They made me laugh so hard I was often in stitches.  They named the boobs.  (Delores was the bad one- and Hillary was the good one, who was merely a victim of the company she kept).  They also nick-named my plastic surgeon Dr. Hottie and believe me the name suited him.  We laughed and laughed about me running away with him to start getting work done for free.   After all I was going to have perky breasts after all was said and done.  Why wouldn’t I want the perfect butt and a flat tummy to match?  Whenever they asked how appointments were they kept the conversation light and fluffy, if not down right hilarious.  

So when it was surgery time- we had a send off party!  It was just what the doctor ordered! Every women in this situation has different thoughts and how to handle their emotions and conversations with others.  And there are many different ways to say “Boob-Voyage”!  Women are getting very creative with the Ta-Ta to the Tatas parties.  Many have breast-shaped cakes and boob-themed games.  Many have clever names.  I happen to love the idea of a Backyard Boobie-Q. I, however, am a tad on the boring side and just wanted a quiet day out to relax with the gang and forget about the current situation I was in.  We headed to Childress Vineyards and had a wonderful lunch and wine tasting.  We enjoyed a tour of the property and then sat outside on the beautiful day with a glass of vino.  I remember thinking that it was a perfect afternoon.

It was odd how the GPS took us out of our way on the way home.  As we were driving down unfamiliar country roads, we spotted a painted school bus sitting in a parking lot surrounded in a sea of Harley Davidsons. A billboard out front sported an oversized pink ribbon and on the bus were the words: “Big or Small Save them All.”  I’m not sure I would have ever turned around, but I wasn’t driving. Next thing I knew we were pulling a U-turn.  

Because I don’t have a motorcycle or even look like I might have a motorcycle, I felt very out of place walking up to the bus.  We didn’t get very far when we were greeted by Bev.  We felt the need to explain our presence as we were dressed for the vineyard- not a biker bar.  I’m not sure that I have ever felt so welcomed as I did when we explained that we were driving home from a farewell party for my boobs and we saw that they were having a fundraiser event for breast cancer and we just HAD to stop.  

Bev introduced me to all the wonderful ladies that organized the event, which was a poker run.  I didn’t even know what a poker run was at the time.  It’s an organized event where all the participants (usually on motorcycles, boats, horses or snowmobiles) visit 5 to 7 checkpoints drawing a playing card at each one.  The object is to have the best poker hand at the end of the run!  How fun is that??  And this was all done to raise money for women to get their mammograms…

The ladies at The Lucky Turnaround treated me like a guest of honor.  They gave us free drink tokens.  Everyone wanted to hear my story. It reinforced how important mammograms are, as if it weren’t for my mammogram, I would have had NO IDEA that I even had breast cancer as there were no visible signs or lumps.  They encouraged me to speak at the event and that became my first public speaking engagement.  Several of the ladies I met that day kept in touch after the surgery and offered to help in anyway that they could.    My friends bought me a shirt and I will cherish it forever.

• 

• 

That day, I went from feeling blessed for my friends’ support to feeling blessed with the support of strangers near and far.  I was thankful for the inspiration to help others and the desire to turn my cancer into something that could make me a better person in the end.

I’ve got a special shout out to my crew:  Thank you for all the “mammories”, laughs and inspiration. My send-off party will forever go down in history as one of the most unforgettable days of my life.  Love you!!