INTRODUCTIONS

I am pretty much just like you. I am a sports fan, I enjoy skiing, snowshoeing, in the winter biking, tennis in the summer.I am the captain of the women's hockey team.
I produce a local morning sports/talk radio show The Vic McCarty show, I just got engaged, and oh yeah, I am a breast cancer survivor.

I work for the local radio station, and we do a lot of charity events. I wanted to participate in one and hadn't so I randomly picked one, it happened to be the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. It was powerful. (I had only known one person who died of cancer, his name was Nick Corea, he was a writer on Walker, Texas Ranger, and a great guy. Pancreatic cancer took him quickly.) Hearing about all the survivor stories touched me. Little did I know how much. The Relay was in June or July. I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma stage one grade 3 breast cancer in September of that same year, just a few months later.

I found the lump in the beginning of September of 2007, never in my wildest dreams did I think cancer. I didn't have a doctor here so my personal trainer suggested a couple of doctors and I picked one, a female doctor, just because I had heard good things about her from other people. I met her and she scheduled me for a biopsy a day or two later.

September 18, 2007.

I remember pretty much everything about that day like it was yesterday. I was driving home from work and I had called to see if my biopsy results were in. The nurse answered the phone and said they were not in. Not even two minutes later the doctor called me. She told me that she had my results and how soon could I get there. FUCK, i thought, It's cancer. It's never a good sign when they want you in the office, its not like they are inviting you to try the extra cookies that the receptionist made for her daughters bake sale. Nope never good news. I don't even remember driving to the office, I just remember ending up there waiting in the waiting room, I recall the doc coming out wearing this odd chinese type apron and she lead me back to one of the exam rooms. It was blue and I sat and I waited for her She asked me if there was someone I wanted to call to be with me when she told me the news, but I just wanted to get it over with, she pressed the issue again and I think I said just fucking tell me!!! "It's cancer." I looked at the silver clock in the blue exam room 1:12pm. Even though I knew that is what she was going to say it still doesn't mentally prepare you for that actual statement. All I heard after that sounded like the adults in Peanuts blah blah blah, staging, blah blah blah tumor size, blah blah blah surgery.

I sat there stunned, being in the best physical shape I had ever been in my life I couldn't believe it, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I eat right, I was gearing up for hockey season, and here she told me news that would totally change my life.