This is Sue's original Journal that she kept to document her battle On this page, you'll be able to read my original journal from my diagnosis, and my email updates through my initial treatments. Personal Journal of my Diagnosis Back in June/July of 2003, when I originally found a lump in my armpit, I began a difficult and sometimes traumatic journey to a diagnosis. Although it took about 3 weeks to get this diagnosed as cancer, I recognized early that this was something big and began keeping a journal of what I went through. Friday, June 27, 2003 Discovered Lump while brushing teeth before going to bed. Not sure what led me to feel under my arm. Monday, June 30, 2003 Called my OB/GYN's office. My regular doctor is out this week; they set me up with an appointment with another doctor. Tuesday, July 1, 2003 Dr. M. said that it's a good sign that the lump is "floating" rather than an unmoving mass. She prescribed an antibiotic to see if this is some kind of infection, and told me to come back in a week to see Dr. S. Wednesday, July 9, 2003 No change to lump. Dr. S. told me to call the Here's what Sue is doing in between getting diagnosis USAF F-16C block 42 #89-2098 from the 112th FS is towed to the flight Monday, July 14, 2003 Thursday, July 17, 2003 Dr. P. examined me, reviewed the ultrasound, and said that I would need a mammogram. Also biopsied (Fine Needle Aspiration) the lump. Dr. P's office assistant was on vacation, so there was confusion in finding out if the insurance would cover labwork done at Friday, July 18, 2003 Received a call at home from Dr. P. Greg handed me the phone. I have cancer. Greg knows this by my reaction. Was on the phone for several minutes with Dr. P. while she explained the next steps to me. The lump is a lymph node. She has me on her calendar for 4pm on Tuesday, so that she'd have a good block of time. She said to bring as many family members as I wanted. Her office assistant, Vicky, was to call me on Monday morning to set up the appointment for the mammogram. Friday evening/Saturday I cry every time I look at Jack. Breastfeeding is traumatic because I know that I will not be able to continue much longer. I cry every time I think about telling anyone. I know that Greg wants my mother to come to the appointment with Dr. P., so I call her on Saturday afternoon. I can't say the words without crying, so I hand the phone to Greg to break the news. I can't say it, but once she knows, I can talk about it with little difficulty. She basically tells me that worrying isn't going to help, & I'll have to wait to hear what the doctor has to say. That was what I needed to hear - stopped crying as much as I was. She will be here for the appointment on Tuesday. Sunday, July 20, 2003 Jack is being baptized at the noon mass. His godparents are Aunt Mary & Uncle Bill. They are in town with their families, also Mom, Ann, and Alexis, and Jack's brother Joe. Aunt Mary just wants to hold her godson, who has never seen her before. He cries through the mass and his baptism, then Mary takes him to the back of the church. Although I don't know this yet, all of the adults know about my cancer. I send Greg with Bill to stop and pick up beer & wine; Jill rides with me. This is when I find out that the adults know. Jill tells me they were careful to keep the information from Joe and the twins. At the party, no one says anything. I guess they are waiting for me to bring it up. In the kitchen, Mary asks me how I'm doing. Ok. In the hottub with Ann, Jill, Mary, & Mom, again no one brings it up. St Clarence - Fr. Al, Bill Trendel (godfather), Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Mammogram appointment is at 10:30, I was told to be there at 10:15 for registration. At registration, they ask me for my insurance card, and to fill out all the paperwork that I just filled out the previous week. I am not amused. I ask if they'd like me to pump prior to the mammogram & they provide a room for me to do this. In with the radiologist, she asks why I'm having a mammogram. I am appalled that they are asking stupid questions like this. I did apologize before leaving the office. I'm stressed, and not in a good mood over having to come back a second time for a test that should have been done at my initial appointment. Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Got to the office about 3:45pm. Mom is already there looking for us. We sit in the waiting room, I tell mom about my morning appointment. Dr. P. walks through the waiting room about 4:20. Looks like she has just come from surgery across the street. A few minutes later, Vicky escorts us to a conference room. Dr. P. comes in, introductions are made, and then she begins to explain what we're looking at. I am a Stage II cancer (T=0, N=1, M=0). In case I want to do internet research, Dr. P. writes on the paper "adenocarcinoma" and "occult breast cancer". Although the cells are typical breast cancer, my presentment is not typical because it was found in a lymph node before finding an actual breast tumor. Although nothing was visible on the mammogram, Dr. P. is sure that this originated in my left breast. Dr. P. explains about surgery to remove the lymph nodes (which they'd like to do soon), radiation, chemotherapy, mastectomy, & lumpectomy. Unless they find a tumor, lumpectomy doesn't seem to be an option. There are not a lot of questions since everything has been so well explained. Dr. P. wants me to have a PET Scan, which is a fairly new test being done to find where the cancer originated. Someone behind the scenes is trying to get this scheduled. They are first given a date of August 30th, which is unacceptable to Dr. P. By the time we leave the office, they have a date of July 30th, but will try to get this sooner. Wednesday, July 23, 2003 I call Jack's pediatrician's office because his eye is red. I also need to find out what she would recommend for formula. The nurse schedules an appointment for 6:45pm because of the eye. I did not get a chance to ask the question about the formula, but plan to ask at the appointment. Breastfeeding has been going so well and I hate that I will have to stop. Got a call from Dr. P.'s office. The PET Scan has been moved up to July 25th. Also, wanted to get surgery scheduled. Given a choice of Monday or Friday, I select Monday, August 4th. This, of course, is dependent on the results of the PET Scan. I call my boss and he's available. I go over to his office and tell him that I'll be needing another "short-term leave". As soon as that's out of my mouth, I realize that it was a bad choice as he'll probably assume that I'm pregnant again. So I quickly tell him that I'm not pregnant, that I have cancer. His response is "you're kidding...(pause)...you're kidding". I assure him that I'm not kidding, and fill him in on what I know. Later, I contact my other boss, Major B., to let him know that I will probably need to cancel my week of annual training. He will tell Beth and the branch chiefs. He is very sympathetic, and tells me to take whatever time I need. Wednesday, July 23, 2003 6:45pm Dr. D. looks at Jack's eye and says that there's nothing there to worry about. The redness that was there in the morning is gone. He's got a blocked tear duct, and his eye could be this way for quite a while. If it lasts a year, then they'd look at unblocking the tear duct. I ask about formula, and tell her about the cancer. "That's just horrible". I agree. She asks about who my doctor is, and suggests another doctor, Dr. L. at the Cleveland Clinic downtown. Several in the office there have gone to him, including one diagnosed with BC 15 years ago. She gave me a hug before I left the office. Got home and had a message from Ed (Greg's brother) that Barb (Ed's wife) is not going to last much longer. Greg headed over to the hospice and was holding Barb's hand when she died. Thursday, July 24,2003 9:30am. Today's appointment is with Dr. N., the Oncologist. She asked me to explain what I understood about my cancer and apparently I understand this fairly well. Another exam. Met Sally, the Oncology Nurse. She was the one behind the scenes scheduling the PET Scan. I have stopped breastfeeding and am only pumping a few ounces when I can't take it anymore. Didn't bring the pump to work because I though I could get through the day. This is not fun. Friday, July 25,2003 2:30pm PET Scan. Nothing by mouth for 6 hours before test. Grabbed breakfast at 8; made sure to finish my water by 8:30. Left work at noon to pick up Jack at daycare. Mom got to the house at 1pm to watch Jack while we are at the Cleveland Clinic. Got there early & filled out more paperwork. I have a headache from engorgement and no food. At about 2:15 the Radiologist came and got me to inject the solution. The room that she does this in has the radioactive symbol in several places, and everything is wrapped in what looks like "paper towels and duct tape". I am sent back to the waiting room with instruction to sit quietly and then to empty my bladder at 2:45. I do as instructed, and someone else comes to get me at 2:50. In a huge room is the giant tube with a conveyor belt to move me into the tube. I remove all clothing with metal (jeans & bra) and put on the gown. I lay down on the conveyor belt and am told to put my hands above my head. She gets me lined up on the machine, and after some kind of prescan, she comes back and tells me the scan will take 30 minutes. For my listening pleasure, she asks if Neil Young is ok. Whatever. She comes back periodically to tell me how much time is left. When it's over, I slowly sit up but don't feel well. I walk over to the curtain and put my clothes back on. I sit down because I really don't feel well. She comes over to tell me that I'll be going back to the waiting room until she can confirm that they've got good information. I tell her that I think I'm going to throw up. She runs for a garbage can. I don't throw up, so she gets me honey graham crackers and orange juice. I eat one pack of crackers and take 2 sips of juice. The juice tastes like concentrate that they didn't add enough water to. I've decided that I have a migraine. I am sent back to the waiting room. A few minutes later, we're told we can leave. The results will have to come from the doctor. We get home and I need to lay down. Greg can't find the Tylenol, so he gets me a couple of Advil. Greg also decides that he needs a nap. Mom is watching Jack. Greg gets up about 6pm to go to the Funeral Home for visitation. I get up to play with Jack. My headache is still there, but better. Mom said that Jack cried for an hour and then she put him in his car seat and he calmed down. When Greg gets home, he tells me that everyone (his brother's family) knows about my cancer. Saturday, July 26, 2003 There is a Funeral Mass at 11 for Barb in Valley City. We need to leave at 10 to make sure we're there on time. Joe has arrived and will follow us to the church. Mom will be watching Jack again. We make it to the church in plenty of time. I am amazed at what people will wear to a funeral mass. (Must have a beach date immediately following.) Christine, Pete & Robert are on the other side of the church with their mother. The priest talks about the horrors of chemotherapy & radiation, which gets me crying. A few minutes later he is talking about the agony of dying from cancer. That doesn't help either. We go to the church hall for the luncheon following mass. We sit with Greg's cousins, aunts, & uncle. This part of the family doesn't know. It's nice to just have normal conversation and not listen to all of the "sympathy". Christine is going to follow us over to a party at the Mujic's. She will meet us at the house at 3pm. At the party, Janis asks me "what's new and exciting", so I tell her. She has an aunt who was diagnosed 15 years ago. This is not good party conversation, so I don't tell anyone else until I catch Ann alone right before we leave. Everyone that I've told is great - whatever I need, just ask. Sunday, July 27, 2003 We go to church, 10:00 mass. Jack is sleeping when we get there, but wakes up during the mass. He looks around and jabbers a little, but is very good. After mass, we try to be the last one out so that we have a chance to tell Fr. Al. There are so many dawdlers and even when we think we'll get a minute with Fr. Al, someone is right behind us. Fr. Al laughs when we tell him how good Jack was during the mass, especially after the crying during the baptism mass. Monday, July 28,2003 10:15am I have an appointment with Dr. L. at the Cleveland Clinic downtown. Crile Building, 1st Floor, Desk A-10. We get there early to do paperwork, and at 10:15 we're escorted back to an examination room. The nurse is putting information into the computer - all of the same questions that I had to answer on the form. She says that they have to have the paper copy. It turns out they only have the reports from the ultrasound & mammogram, but they will want the films. I have to sign additional forms for this. Fortunately, there are magazines in the room. Dr. L. finally comes in. We talk about what we know, then he leaves to review the PET Scan information with his radiologist. When he comes back, he tells me that the scan did not indicate anything specific. He would not have recommended this test, it's new. He talks about removing lymph nodes, but it does not sound like he's referring to all of them. The numbness that Dr. P. talked about is normal, whether the nerves are severed or not. The doctor performs a brief exam. Dr L's nurse will call me with appointments for Breast MRI. I will need to stop at Fairview to pick up the films. Several hours later, we leave. $10 for parking. We run through McDonalds Drive-thru for lunch. Back at the office, Eric (co-worker) is frustrated by my not providing details of the birthday celebration and he has asked Eileen to order a cake. I tell him to cancel it because we've already got the cake ordered. I asked Eric to let me know when he's got a minute, and we go to a conference room where I fill him in. After work, Greg and I head to the Clip-ity Clop Western Shop so I can get something to wear to tomorrow's diversity event. I also go to K-mart for a stick horse. Tuesday, July 29,2003 I won the "Best Dressed" contest for the department's Country/Western diversity event. Trying to catch Patty, but she is busy. I send her an e-mail to let me know when she's got a few minutes. She stops over while I'm on a conference call. After my meeting I go to her cube and tell her. I know that she was expecting me to say something like "I have a new job". She has a family history of breast cancer - her mother died from this. Patty gets choked up and I can see that she has tears in her eyes. She gives me a hug. I tell Debbie. She is surprised, but says that her mother had breast cancer in 1979 and survived. Thursday, July 31,2003 Told Al, Shannon (her mother has been going through treatment for Breast Cancer for 2 years), and my team. Asked Eric to tell his group. Left the office at 1pm to pick up my films from Fairview before heading over to the Cleveland Clinic. The receptionist cannot find them and sends someone "downstairs" to look for them. After waiting about 20 minutes for an answer, the receptionist has my folder out and open. I point out to her the note in the folder that says "mailed 7/31". That is today. My map from Yahoo gets me to the general vicinity of the Cleveland Clinic Campus, but not to the building that I need to go to. I park in the lot for the main building and work my way to the L Building. I get to the desk about 2:30 for a 2:20 appointment. The receptionist tells me to have a seat and they will call me. A while later I am sent down the hall to a different set of chairs. A young girl comes out to get me, and shows me where to change. Another woman inserts the IV port into my left arm and then I wait again. The young girl, Grace, takes me into the MRI room and gets me situated on the machine. Another woman checks my placement on the machine - Grace must be in training. They put plugs in my ears, and during the test they keep me informed as to how long each scan will take. I don't really care, I'm trying to sleep. Between the last 2 four minute scans the woman injects me with the dye. After I'm done, I ask if I can see the pictures. Other than the pictures looking like a breast, I can't see anything specific and the technician is not giving up any information. I go home to pack up myself & Jack for the weekend in Toledo. As I remove the last of the breast milk from the freezer, I cry. Friday, August 1, 2003 Out at the guard base, my team knows, and the branch chiefs know. Also Col. A. Everyone is supportive. LtCol M from the Clinic comes in for a picture. I ask about the paperwork & whether I'll be able to continue to pull drills. My records will have to go before a Medical Review Board, and although I'll probably be permitted to pull drills, I will not be "worldwide qualified" to go on any Annual Training trips. All I need is 2 more good years for retirement. Saturday, August 2,2003 I'm the only one in the house going to work, but Tim is up getting breakfast. He tells me that he can't see complaining around me knowing what I have to go through. Saturday night I pulled the last 2 bags of breast milk from Ann's freezer and cried again. Sitting on the swing with Jack, I cry some more. Greg and Tim are quiet. Sunday, August 3,2003 Greg tells me there were 3 messages on the answering machine from Dr. L, probably from Friday. Monday, August 4,2003 At 8:30, I call Dr. L's office and they put me through to him. He says that the MRI shows a tumor in my left breast. He knows that I am scheduled for an MRI on my right breast for tomorrow (Tuesday), but the radiologist is on vacation for a week and there's no one to read that. He wants to schedule an office visit for next Monday, but when he hears my disappointment, tells me that his office in Beachwood will call me within an hour to set up an appointment for later this week. I call Greg to tell him that they found a tumor. He tells me to call my mother when the appointment gets scheduled because she will drop everything to be there. The appointment gets scheduled for Friday at 11:15. Vicky at Dr. P's office is not very helpful when I call to have them get the MRI results. She tells me to have the reports faxed over. I ask if Dr. P would want the films as well. I get a positive response, but no help on how to request this. I talk to S. at the KeyBank Corporate Medical Department. I cannot file for "Short Term Disability" until I have a surgery date. Anything prior to that needs to be covered out of my own time. She tells me that the bank has support groups made up of survivors, but due to budget cuts, they no longer have someone in the Medical group coordinating/scheduling the meetings. Sharlene tells me that another coworker has had both of her breasts removed. Jane tells me that her Aunt had BC and she'll get the doctor name for me. All, Tomorrow's the big day - surgery is set for 2:30 pm. Please think happy thoughts for me! ........Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ***************** All, I'm home from the hospital and recovering from surgery. I hear it went well, but will know more when I see the doctor next Monday. I did get to talk to the doctor's resident and he said it went well. I am on pain medication and hoping that I don't get called up for random drug testing at the next guard weekend! I think I hear my pillow calling me....zzzzzzzz ...Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ***************** All, (For those of you who don't already know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery on Aug 20th.) I went to the doctor today, and although I did not get the good news that I would have wanted, I guess it could be worse. The pathology report shows that they removed 29 lymph nodes, and 10 were cancerous. The tumor itself was removed with "clean margins", but not large enough margins according to the pathology report. So, I'll be having additional surgery next Tuesday. This will be done under a local anesthetic, so I expect to get to go home that day. On the positive side, I am feeling better than I was. My incisions are healing nicely, and they removed the drainage tube. Thanks for all your prayers & positive thoughts. I am getting all of your e-mails, even though I'm not responding individually! (I am able to take calls.) ...Sue ***************** All, Surgery went well yesterday. It was done under a local anesthetic, but I was also sedated. I woke up near the end of the procedure and jumped in on the conversation that the doctor & others were having, which seemed to surprise the doctor. I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow (this got moved up from Friday the 12th), and should get to hear what the treatment will be and when it will start. Another follow up appointment with the surgeon on Monday, and I'm expecting to be back to work on Monday as well. Jack and I are recovering from colds, but otherwise doing well. Greg is hanging in there with us. Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts, cards & flowers. ......Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** All, I realize that many of you did not get the news following my doctors appointment with the oncologist. I was just so bummed out after getting bad news, that I couldn't send the update, and Greg doesn't have everyone on his distribution list. The oncologist brought up the pathology report from the surgery while we were in her office. I imagine the report probably surprised her too, but she let me know that they had found additional cancer, and my next step would be probably be a mastectomy. So, I had the surgery done yesterday, and am once again, home recovering. This has been the worst surgery so far in terms of how I feel. The surgical area doesn't feel too bad, I am just nauseous - probably from the 2nd "general anesthetic" in 3 weeks. I hadn't planned on staying in the hospital overnight, but I didn't even get moved out of the recovery area until almost 9pm. I had problems with an irregular heartbeat, so they had to call in a cardiologist for a consult. The cardiologist felt that I was ok, and the irregular heartbeat was nothing to be concerned with. Both my surgeon and the oncologist felt strongly that this is what we needed to do in order to get the next part of the treatment going as soon as possible. I believe that I will still be starting chemotherapy next Monday, but I've got some phone calls to make to find out for sure. The oncologist wants to be very aggressive with the chemo, doing this every 2 weeks versus every 3 weeks, to keep a higher concentration of chemicals in my system "kicking cancer butt". (That's my translation, not exactly what the doctor said!) Still the same number of treatments, but the good news is that if they get started on Monday, I should be done with chemo on the 22nd of December. Return to work is now tentatively scheduled for the beginning of October, and I don't expect to get out anywhere for at least a week. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers. .....Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** Hi all, Here's the latest update on my recovery: On Monday morning, I had the drains from my surgery removed by the Physician's Assistant. She said that I was healing well and everything looks good. She also gave me a copy of the pathology report which shows that they seem to have finally got it all!!! On Monday afternoon, I met with the oncologist and we went over everything that she needed to tell me about the chemotherapy, and she answered about a gazillion questions that I had for her. The chemotherapy itself was about 3 different drugs for the nausea that the 2 chemicals of the chemotherapy would cause. I think we got started about 2:30, and didn't get out of there until about 5:30. They had told me to expect this treatment to be about 1 1/2 hours, but I think with the nurse and social worker coming in to talk with me, things got slowed down. They are my "support team" in getting through this and wanted to make sure I had all of the resources I need. With the "dose dense" chemotherapy, I only have two weeks between treatments, which in the past has not been enough time for the white blood cells to recovery from the chemotherapy killing them off. To counter this, I go back in on Tuesdays for another injection that kicks my bone marrow into high gear in producing additional white cells. The nurse who gave me the injection told me that this would probably make my joint and bones ache about 36 hours after the injection. Today I feel pretty good (after a 2 hour nap), but I had been told that I probably would. Tomorrow and Thursday will probably be the days that I feel bad. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers, and please feel free to pass this information on as I really do not have the entire world on the distribution list. If anyone is not on my direct list and would like to be added, please let me know. ......Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** All, Thankfully this is an off-week for me in terms of no surgery and no chemotherapy this week. I went to the surgeon today to have him check his handiwork, and he pronounced it as healing nicely! He wants to see me again in 6 months. Chemotherapy is every other week, so I'm already counting down the 13 weeks I have remaining until it's over. Just to show that I'm not going to take this lying down, I've signed up for the "Susan G Komen Race For The Cure" being held on October 11th here in Cleveland. Greg and I will both be walking the 5K. This, of course, is a fundraising event. If you'd like to contribute to this cause, please send a check to my home address below. I figure that if I can raise money so that even one other person doesn't have to go through this, then I've done a good thing. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else who may want to contribute to the cause. Thanks for the continued thoughts, prayers, e-mails, cards, flowers, planters, fruit baskets, and offers of assistance. I am truly amazed by the outpouring of kindness from all. Sue Trendel Szklarz Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** All, Another week is done. I am officially down to 11 weeks and 6 days until my last chemo treatment. Yesterday I had bloodwork done to ensure that my white cell count was sufficient to do the chemotherapy, and it was fine. I asked the doctor if she'd ever had anyone who's white cell count did not recover and she said no, so based on that information, I'm now more confident that December 22nd will be my last treatment! I'm feeling ok today, but a little tired. Due to the amount of hair that I'm losing, today is the day that I will pre-emptively shave my head. The lady at the wig shop recommended doing this with the baby (Jack) watching so that he is not frightened when he see's me without hair. He was a little surprised when I cut my hair short, but not too bad of a reaction then. I went shopping for some scarves today, so I have something to wear when I don't feel like wearing a wig, probably evenings and weekends. The current plan is that I will be back at work at the bank on Monday, October 6th. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine and getting caught up on nearly 2 months of e-mail and paperwork. Thanks to those of you who have already sent checks for the "Race for the Cure". Regarding who checks should be made out to, I never found anything on the website, but a reliable source tells me checks should be made out to "Komen NE Ohio Race for the Cure". All of you who are walking, running, or have contributed to someone elses walk or run are already supporting the cause and should not worry about my fundraising. I just got a late start in registering with not knowing where this race would be in terms of my chemotherapy cycle. Thanks again for all the prayers, and positive thoughts. I'm convinced that this is going to allow me to be around for a very long time. ......Sue Trendel Szklarz ** Phone calls and visitors (please call ahead) are welcome!** ******************** All, Another week down, 11 more to go. Today, the first day back at work was a good day. Lots of hugs -- I'm feeling the love!!! As mentioned last week, my Mom "buzzed" my head on Tuesday night. Greg followed on Wednesday. I still had stubble from the clippers, but we took a razor to Greg's head and finished the job. Can't risk cutting myself, because with the white cell counts down, I could get an infection. By Saturday night, most of my hair had fallen out. With my wig, I feel overheated, so I may just have to be a scarf person, except on those real cold days. I'm liking my new look. I think I have a good head for the bald look. Attached is an updated family portrait. .....Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** All, Saturday, October 11th was the Race for the Cure. As I counted up the checks Friday night, I was at $968, so with having to write my own check for the cash I received as well as the checks made out to me, I just decided to round it up to $1,000. I received another check in the mail on Saturday, and expect that there are one or two more out there that just haven't made it to me yet, but I was amazed that in two weeks, so many donations rolled in. Thank you all, and you can expect to receive individual letters from me that you can use for your taxes - hopefully in the next week or two. The day of the race was beautiful - couldn't have asked for better weather for the crowd of 20,000 who were there to walk or run, and many others who came down to cheer and support and participate in a full morning of events. I met up with a few from the KeyBank - Tiedeman Team for a picture at the Rock Hall (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame + Museum for you out-of-towners), and then Greg, Jack & I went and found a place at the back of the pack for the walk. While we were waiting for the start, a woman came up to me and untied a scarf from her neck that she had gotten at the "Ford" booth. She offered it to me because she would probably never wear it and thought I could use it. So I gave Greg the scarf I was wearing and put on the pink & green breast cancer themed scarf for the walk. We had also met up with an old friend of mine, Pam Manko, and she walked with us since she rehabbing from a back injury and couldn't run as she had originally planned. We were so far back that we never saw any runners, and it was a minute or two before we even moved. There also ended up being many, many people lined up behind us so that we were no longer at the back of the pack. We had also worried about taking Jack in his stroller, but once we saw how many others brought children in strollers onto the course, we knew it wouldn't be a problem. Our pace was controlled by the crowd - steady but slow. Toward the end of the race, we even had to stop at some of the busier intersections and wait for traffic lights. We finished in about 65 minutes according to Greg. As a survivor, I went through a different chute than Greg & Pam. Jack crossed the finish line with me. Pam & I went scavenging for food, and then met back up with Greg & Jack by the Rock Hall. (I've attached a couple of pictures from race day.) As much as we would have liked to stay for the survivor ceremony, we had a doctor's appointment for Jack and had to leave. Jack was determined to have a slight infection in both ears, along with his new and worse cold, which I also have. He is on stronger antibiotics this time, and in addition to his 6-month shots, the pediatrician also recommended that Jack get a flu shot. She has also recommended that Greg get a flu shot which he did not appreciate, but she is really doing a good job of looking out for me. Every time I'm in the office she asking how I'm doing and telling me another positive story from someone in the office, or mothers of other of her patients. Monday was my 3rd chemotherapy treatment. With my bad cold and slight temperature that I was running, I was a little concerned that they might tell me that I couldn't have my treatment. The oncology nurse got me in with one of the other doctors since my regular doctor was on vacation. Although my temperature was up, they really saw no reason to delay treatment unless my neutrafils (Jill, did I spell that right) were down under the acceptable level. They also wanted to draw blood to check for any possibility of a viral infection, not just a cold, which could land me in the hospital. So far I haven't gotten a call that anything is growing in their petri dish. So, I did get my treatment, went home, had dinner, and went right to bed. This morning, I felt fine, so Mom went home, I went for my booster shot and then to work. So far, things are still going really well with the treatments in general. Hopefully this will continue. I'm down under 10 weeks to go!!! Still thankful for all of the prayers & thoughts that everyone is sending my way. ...........Sue FUNNY JUNK MAIL....I got free samples in the mail for "volumizing shampoo, volumizing conditioner, and volume boosting gel"....I don't think it's going to help! IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.....not to pick on the smokers of the world, but there's something wrong with people standing outside the doors of the Taussing Cancer Center smoking. NO MORE CHAIN LETTERS PLEASE....Over the past two week, I am suddenly finding my inbox filled with messages of hope, some religious, all nice messages, but at the end, there's the statement that I need to forward the message on to a specified minimum number of my friends. Surprisingly, some of these also threaten me with BAD LUCK if I don't comply. I appreciate the intent under which these are forwarded to me but I never forward these, and would appreciate not getting them --- especially the threatening ones. THANKS for your understanding. Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** Hello All, Sorry for the delay in my recovery update, but unfortunately I ended up in the hospital last week for 5 days. On Sunday the 19th, in the middle of the Browns Game, my temperature spiked to 102. Although it may have had something to do with how the Browns were playing, more likely it had to do with the cold that I've been fighting for a few weeks. My orders have been that if my temperature goes above 100.5, that I'm to call in and will probably be told to go in to the hospital. After waiting at the emergency room for an hour and a half, my temperature got up to 102.7, which finally got me taken to a room. My white blood cell count was said to be 200. A healthy person should have a count of 4-5,000. They did the required tests on me and then had me transported to the Cleveland Clinic for admission. I figured I'd be in for a day or two, but they kept running IV's with different antibiotics, drew blood several times a day, and made whatever noise they could to keep all of the patients from sleeping. They pretty much left me alone during the day, but the nights were awful. That's when the lab tech come around to draw blood, there's an 11pm shift change that requires them to check the vital signs, and for whatever reason, they think between 5 and 6am is a good time to wake patients up to weigh them!!! On Thursday, my white cell count was over 1000, so when the doctor and his troop of residents & fellows came in on Friday, I begged to go home. He said ok, but it was conditional on my agreeing to "hibernate". So, that's basically what I've been doing since. On Monday, I was scheduled for my 4th and final treatment with the first set of chemicals (Adriamiacin & Cytoxin). My white cell count was good (over 2000), but when the nurse went to find a vein, the lab tech had used the last good vein that I had to check my white cell count - I still have a lot of bruising from the blood draws in the hospital. So, that meant going back on Tuesday for the chemo treatment. Everything went well with that yesterday, and I am still on schedule for my next treatment on Monday the 10th of November. Unfortunately, I'm still fighting my cold, and on another antibiotic, which will hopefully be the last one for now. My Oncologist is not willing to let me return to work until she sees me again on the 10th. I have also decided that it is not in my best interest to go anywhere for the duration of my chemotherapy, so no parties, weddings, church, visits home to Toledo. Well, gotta cut this note short - Jack's got a temperature of 104 and Mom and I have to get him from daycare. (just what i need) Thanks for everything. ..........Sue Go to Diagnosis & Treatment Updates by date ******************** Hi All, Finally another update. Nothing much to report this time, but I did have my 5th Chemo treatment on Monday, so only 3 more to go. This was my first treatment with Taxol, which is different from my first 4 treatments. So far the only side effect is a little achiness, but nothing that a little tylenol won't help. The doctor warned me that this could be very painful, but maybe I'll get lucky. My 4th treatment was a little rough on me - after having ended up in the hospital last month, the doctor put me on a different shot for boosting my white blood cells. Instead of getting just one shot, I had to go every day for 8 days. </
line during Phase I Operations for the 180th FW Operational Readiness
Inspection (ORI) at the Toledo ANGB on July 13th, 2004.
[USAF photo by MSgt. Sue Szklarz] From F-16.net media gallery 
Mary Payment (godmother), Jack, Sue, and Greg
Monday, July 21, 2003 At 11:30, still no call from the doctor's office, so I call them. Vicky has just returned from vacation and hasn't gotten through her pile yet. She doesn't know about the 4pm appointment and once she finds this information, says that I should call first because Dr. P. has a difficult surgery scheduled and may be late. Since my mother is coming in from 
Wednesday, July 30,2003 I caught Ron and Bart (co-workers) coming out of a meeting, & dragged them back to the conference room and filled them in.
The following section contains the email updates I sent out during my treatment for breast cancer.
*****************
Subject: Surgery
Sent: Monday, August 18
Subject: Recovery Update #1
Sent: Wednesday, August 20
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #2
Sent: August 25, 2003 3:22 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #3
Sent: September 3, 2003 3:23 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #4
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 2:22 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #5
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 2:36 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #6 Race for the Cure
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 5:41 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #7
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2003 3:46 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #8
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 8:57 PM 
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #9
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 10:21 PM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #10
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 11:10 AM
Subject: Sue's Recovery Update #11
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 9:44 AM