Demetra Karasavidis
Since my mother’s passing 30 years ago, I have been very diligent with my yearly mammograms. More recently, I also tested positive for the BRCA 1 gene. So, I added breast MRI’s and ultrasounds to my yearly checkup. I truly thought I had all bases covered.
On Tues Oct 1st, my breast surgeon sat me down and explained that I had triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive cancer that needed to be dealt with head on! Listening to him , I thought the timing of it all was absolutely poetic! What better day than Oct 1st? The first day of breast cancer awareness month! It was like something out of a movie script! But this wasn’t a movie . It was my life and in the instance it takes to turn a page, my life had changed.
Within 3 weeks I underwent a lymph node biopsy, a breast MRI, insertion of a PORT, and a Pet Scan. All results came back negative and just like that I had my silver lining! It gave me the strength to begin my journey, to start my chemo sessions ( 16 sessions in 24 weeks), and to prepare for the difficult surgery that was to follow. With my silver lining in hand, and my family’s & friends’ enormous embrace of love & support, I have started living my new “normal life”.
When Alexi first approached me with his idea of project 101, I was truly touched by his thoughtfulness. However, I also had my hesitations. For one thing, I didn’t think my story was any different from the stories of so many other women battling this disease. In addition, I’m not one who enjoys being in the spotlight. But Alexi was so determined to do this. So I allowed myself to go a little deeper and once again thought about my mother and her battle with breast cancer. I have been doing a lot of that since my diagnosis. In doing so, 2 facts have become quite evident: 1) it is incredible how much the treatment plans available have changed in the last 30 years . And 2) it is just as incredible how the significance of having medical coverage has not changed in the last 30 years. Early detection is vital to a patient’s survival and impossible without medical coverage. Project 101 aims to address both of these issues. This is why I accepted Alexi’s thoughtful proposal and proudly support Project 101! God bless you Alex Dakas! Best of luck with your training! And ….. see you in Greenport.
