Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Getting to know Dianne:

I’m 46 years old and have two kids, a daughter that is 18 and a son that is 17. I’ve been married to my best friend for almost 25 years. I’ve been teaching Math at the local Jr. College for 20 years and been a stay-at-home mom at the same time. I homeschooled both kids from the 6th grade through the 11th – it was loads of fun!

I found my breast cancer less than a month after a “clear” mammogram in 2008 (Infiltrating ductal carcinoma, stage IIB). I always knew I would get cancer because every woman in my dad’s family has died of breast or ovarian cancer. I’m hoping to break that chain.

So, after a bilateral mastectomy, an oophorectomy, eight rounds of chemo (interrupted by the development of a rare condition), Arimadex hormone therapy that landed me in the hospital after a month, another biopsy, Tamoxifen (for the next 5 years), and implant reconstruction surgery - I’m still here! It’s been a wild ride so far, but you’re welcome to join me on my journey.

4 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're still here and I look forward to getting to know you better. Hugz

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  2. Welcome Aboard!

    I didn't know you homeschooled! That is so cool!

    Are you still teaching?

    What are your kids doing now?

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  3. I totally missed the part about homeschooling! I homeschooled my oldest son from 9th Grade to graduation and he's in college now. I also homeschooled my daughter from 4th through 8th and the youngest has always been homeschooled.

    It is alot of fun isn't it?

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  4. It sure seems that way! I used to be a real homeschooler-wannabe. Now, I am just a strong homeschooler-supporter/sympathizer. For a while, our kids asked to be homeschooled (like a lot of our/their friends). But now our kids are in frameworks that work for them (more or less) and, most importantly, are all happy where they are (and where they are going).

    Until last summer, we were all home together during summertime. That was my compromise with my husband -- I would enroll them in school, but summers were mine! The kids and I had two months to wake up when we wanted and spend the entire day playing/exploring/hanging out. We all have great memories from those summers!

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