Weddings, Parties...Chemo!
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Marie Lapiejko and her husband Marek
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2005 started with much promise. I was engaged to be married and was in the throws of planning our wedding which was to take place in June. I was also working in an aged care facility after switching from the hospitality industry - I loved the residents and I loved going to work each day. But the one thing that I was really looking forward to was starting a family with my husband. Let me just say that at 37 years of age, time was not my friend and coming from an ethnic family background, the pressure was on from mum, aunties, aunties friends and neighbours, women who claimed to be friends of aunties and neighbours, and so on and not to mention all the hard work that I had put in with my husband to convince him of same!
Then unexpectedly in March I was made redundant from my job and I was bitterly disappointed. But never mind it gave me more time to organize my wedding which was only two and a half months away - head down, bum up!
By the time May came around, I was feeling a little tired at this stage and put it down to all the preparations and excitement that any woman feels when a wedding is looming and after arriving home one afternoon from an errand, my husband and I were enjoying the wonderful winter sunshine in the backyard when a feeling came over me that was so powerful I could not ignore it. I moved my hand toward the right breast and pressed in and to my disbelief felt a small lump. I was getting married in three and a half weeks this was not in my itinerary.
Everything from this point happened like lightning - 26 May breast
cancer diagnosis confirmed, 1 June lumpectomy, 12 June walking down the
aisle to marry the most wonderful man in the universe!
My honeymoon was memorable - I had the best time at my 9 week
chemotherapy binge - foggy brain, wrapped around the toilet bowl and in
constant state of hangover. And best of all were the 6 weeks spent
working on the radiation tan of a lifetime because I doubt whether I
will have such an effect ever again!
2005 ended with much promise. After treatment my husband and I enjoyed
10 wonderful days away on our real honeymoon on the Sunshine Coast. We
enjoyed each other's company, ate wonderful food, drank wonderful
beverages, swam in the ocean, walked in the national park, watched
great sunsets and heard amazing thunderstorms. And most importantly we
looked forward to all the wonderful things that we were about to
accomplish as 2006 was about to present much promise!
Last Update February 2008
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