Meaghan's surgery scars don't stand a chance against her tattoo!

She has told her story to millions of people all over the country, but it was almost as if she was sharing it for the first time when I spoke with Meaghan Edelstein, the youngest survivor of terminal cervical cancer. 

It was 2007 and Meaghan was a 28 year old law student, like anyone else.  She noticed some unusual bleeding that led her to several doctors who tested her, scanned her, and advised her that nothing was unusal.  As the bleeding and discomfort increased, she knew that something was wrong but no one would listen to her concerns.  She was perscribed anti-anxiety, sleeping pills and, finally, szitchoprenia medication to alleviate what others were claiming as feelings resulting from “over stress due to law school”.  A desperate night where she nearly cut open her stomach sent Meaghan to the Emergency Room demanding answers.  Something was inside of her and she wanted it out.  She knew she was dying.

What the tiny cameras did not see, while looking for cysts and tiny tumors during doctor visits, was a giant tumor that was pushing up against her organs.  She was diagnosed with 3B terminal cervical cancer and started on her journey though chemo and radiation.  Told that she did not have a chance to live, she ignored the recommendation to give up and pushed herself through treatment, greatful to finally be heard: if nothing, she had a diagnosis.

Today, Meaghan is a survivor.  Though her body and life are changed from the experience, she has emerged with a new sense of purpose and appreciation for her life.  She knows the answers to questions like “What is it like to know you are going to die” and has experienced the feeling of her body shutting down.  An advocate for adoption, Meaghan will be a mother, should she choose to, by adopting one of the many children in this country who are in need of a good home.

Meaghan’s personal blog is straight from the hip, just like her.  It’s a great resource for anyone who has been diagnosed with cervical cancer or HPV, a disease that effects a high number of people all over the country.  She also has created an organization called “Spirit Jump” that spreads love to people fighting cancer.  It’s a great way to show support for a cancer fighter, as an individual or together  as a family.  Head to her sites to learn more about Meaghan’s “against-the-odds” victory over cancer and ways that you can support other people fighting similar battles all over the country.

http://www.cancerlost.blogspot.com/

http://spiritjump.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Meaghan for sharing her story.

Brain cancer.  To most people, these two simple words in combination register only as an abstract extreme left to the medical brainiacs (no pun intended) and nobel prize winners of the world to ponder upon and search to cure.  For Lee McPherson, fighter and Survivor Angel, brain cancer is a very real part of his life that he faces every day.

Captured in his blog http://cancershmancer.typepad.com/ Lee walks his audience through his November ’07  diagnosis with glioblastoma multiforme, grade IV brain cancer, and subsequent journey.  Through sharp witted humor and effective writing, he is able to answer the question that many wonder:  “What would it be like to have brain cancer?”

This is Lee’s brain at diagnosis.  You can see that he has a large tumor covering a quarter of the image.  Some early indicators of the disease were headaches, confusion and communication issues. 

 July ’09,  his scan shows some burns from radiation, but an absence of the tumor.

His wife, Dana, shares her perspective, fears and challenges with respect to Lee’s journey as his “rock” and caregiver, adding more color to Lee’s journey.

Brain cancer is a tough competitor, but it can be fought- Lee has the pictures to prove it.

Continued from September 16th, 2009…

We exchanged numbers, but never called one another.  By pure coincidence, we ran into each other at an Imerman Angels event.  We laughed over the fact that we had both hung onto each other’s phone numbers and that we should have used them.  Ever since then, we have been there for each other.  We go out, we share intimate worries about recurrence and mentally surviving cancer.  As I had looked to Laura for hope, she turned to me for some as well.  Things had come full circle.

Jennie Grimes was planning to come to our wedding on July 4, 2009.  Anupam and I had a small, very romantic wedding on a cliff overlooking the ocean on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.  It was the biggest celebration of life and love that I’ve ever witnessed.  The jubilant energy at the Dacha House was infectious!  No one could have ever imagined that my life would turn out so differently.  I’ve never felt so much love or happiness! 

Jonny Imerman and many others who made my healing possible, smiled from ear to ear.  Having been party to bubbles, and beaches, and beauty all around while they witnessed this cancer nightmare turn into a fairytale.  We will be celebrating my two year survival mark this August.

Jennie was diagnosed one week prior to our departure with Stage 3, Uterine Cancer.  She, obviously, was unable to make it to our celebration.  It is theorized that this tumor was most likely a side effect of the drug Tamoxofin.  An oncologist prescribes the drug, in order to prevent Estrogen Receptor Positive cancer from recurring. While she faces another battle with cancer, she knows that she has “Angels” all around her.  Jonny, Laura, and I will never let go. 

 We exchanged numbers, but never called one another.  By pure coincidence, we ran into each other at an Imerman Angels event.  We laughed over the fact that we had both hung onto each other’s phone numbers and that we should have used them.  Ever since then, we have been there for each other.  We go out, we share intimate worries about recurrence and mentally surviving cancer.  As I had looked to Laura for hope, she turned to me for some as well.  Things had come full circle.

Jennie Grimes was planning to come to our wedding on July 4, 2009.  Anupam and I had a small, very romantic wedding on a cliff overlooking the ocean on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.  It was the biggest celebration of life and love that I’ve ever witnessed.  The jubilant energy at the Dacha House was infectious!  No one could have ever imagined that my life would turn out so differently.  I’ve never felt so much love or happiness! 

Jonny Imerman and many others who made my healing possible, smiled from ear to ear.  Having been party to bubbles, and beaches, and beauty all around while they witnessed this cancer nightmare turn into a fairytale.  We will be celebrating my two year survival mark this August.

Jennie was diagnosed one week prior to our departure with Stage 3, Uterine Cancer.  She, obviously, was unable to make it to our celebration.  It is theorized that this tumor was most likely a side effect of the drug Tamoxofin.  An oncologist prescribes the drug, in order to prevent Estrogen Receptor Positive cancer from recurring. While she faces another battle with cancer, she knows that she has “Angels” all around her.  Jonny, Laura, and I will never let go.

Jessica finding out that she is one year cancer-free!

Special thanks to Jessica for sharing her story with us!

Read on as Jessica shares her experience in meeting Laura Alexander, a Cancer survivor with Imerman Angels…
I sat and listened to this extremely brave woman tell her story.  The tears came even harder as I empathized with her every word.  We were the same age, we had the same type of cancer, and we lived in the same city.  She looked healthy and strong and determined to live.  Without even having ever met her, I wanted to be like her.  She had her life back, her health back, and all of her hair.

When I called the Imerman Angels office, Jonny Imerman answered.  I told him about my story.  I told him that some of my closest friends, but not all of them, had deserted me.  No one knew what to do or what to say.  I was hurt, lonely and lost.  He took detailed notes and he asked to meet me at a restaurant overlooking the Chicago River, one gorgeous September day in 2007.  I dressed up and did my hair for one of the last times and went not knowing what to expect.  All I knew was that, I could not possibly go on crying six hours a day and that someone needed to help me!

We talked for three hours and he quickly started making mental notes about my personality, my cancer diagnosis, and my needs.  By the end of the lunch, which I couldn’t eat, he told me that he had the perfect girl!  When he mentioned that this woman, Laura Alexander, who also had Stage 2 breast cancer, I smiled.  Not only did she come to my rescue, but the entire group of “Angels”, as they call themselves, showed up too!  I was surrounded with support.

Needless to say, many things happened over the next nine months.  I had to go through losing my hair, four months of chemo, two months of radiation and a break up.  Throughout it all, Laura was right there next to me.  She was on the phone, whenever I needed her, and she met me for lunch regularly.  Of course, we volunteered and spoke at many Imerman Angels events together.  She kept me smiling, and every time that I saw her, I knew that I could do this.  I would heal and I would survive!  Imerman Angels gave me so much hope that I became an outspoken advocate for IA ever since.

I met the love of my life one week before I started chemo. Everyone always wants to know, “where did you meet him?”  I always think it ironic, that we met at a bar/restaurant in Wicker Park called Moonshine.  He is a doctor and he seemed very interested in securing my wellness.  We laughed and cried and just connected in every way, shape and form.  He encouraged me to continue with my everyday life and keep fronting my band, Fly Over State.  He said that keeping my creative flow going throughout the next year would be imperative to maintaining balance and, of course, help keep my mind off of things. He introduced me to meditation and breathing.  He encouraged me to eat foods with a better nutritive value, and he gave me great advice on how to maintain my health during treatments, and he was right.  I never got sick.  My energy level was great and somehow I stayed rather positive and radiant during treatments.  I practiced yoga and went for long walks on the same day as chemo treatments.  I made myself triple and quadruple my vegetable and fruit intake, organic of course and I made every effort to consume organic meats at least once a day.  For every blood test, I had a normal white blood cell count.  I felt great and even with my lopsided wig, which was donated by coutureforcancer.org, I looked great.  Every day felt like a gift.

Finally, the ordeal ended.  The treatments stopped.  My little hairs started to grow like a new baby and we waited six months for my follow up mammogram.  I began dating the doctor, Anupam Ted Kedia, and we fell madly, into a deep love.  He wanted to marry me as soon as possible, but first things first.

We entered Northwestern wearing matching Imerman Angels t-shirts and matching smiles when I found out that YES! INDEED!  I WAS CANCER FREE!!!!  The picture tells it all!

We made our way over to a restaurant to celebrate and it was there that a young, beautiful girl approached us.  She said, “I’ve heard really great things about Imerman Angels and Jonny.”  I launched into the whole story and how I just found out that I am CANCER FREE!  She congratulated me and then shared her story.  She was just 28 and newly diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.  She was in chemotherapy, in the same nightmare I had just experienced.  She felt very alone and isolated.  Her hair was still in tact and she looked as healthy and gorgeous as any other beautiful blonde.  She wondered if the chemo was even working. She had no signs of cancer, but she was in the midst of the fight of her life…

Check in for the final installment of Jessica’s story!