I'm not alone

The chemo haze has lifted, hopefully. Gentle waves of nausea, fatigue, restlessness and weird phantom pain in hindsight were quite manageable. Not unlike a bad Sunday morning hangover combined with the flu combined with a good dose of humid Jersey summer weather. I'll pass on the sandy shore and the sausage and pepper sandwiches for now. I laid down for a short nap and when I woke, summer arrived. 

I knew that I wasn't alone when it came to the diagnosis of cancer. What I really discovered is that I am also not alone in terms of the people who have dropped everything to come to my and my family's aid. With kind words and thoughts. With supportive offers to help. For just being there. With genuine understanding and compassion that I guarantee will not be dismissed or trivialized. I am blown away with the graces of others we have received over the last few weeks. A remarkable gesture from an old dear friend follows. While we lost touch for a number of years, Kim sat behind me in calculus in high school...I am overwhelmed and simply beyond words. And, I know that I am incredibly fortunate to have this love and caring all around me. The one redeeming element in my fight is that everything will be worth it if even one less person will never have to withstand this journey. Thank you so much Kim for your wonderful gesture. Many others thank you as well!  

I didn't need another reason

by Kimberly Shenefiel Kuhne on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 10:34am

Hello Friends!

I am participating in my 4th Susan G Komen 3-Day

for the Cure event this September. I first did the event in 2001 to honor my

grandmother and aunt and other family members that have beat this disease. In

2008, I started doing this for my kids. They lost their great-grandfather to

cancer and I don’t want them to lose another family member to this disease.  In 2010 I started doing this event for the

sake of future treatment options for other types of cancer our family is likely

to face. By the end of  2010, I knew so

many people that have beaten cancer or are still fighting, that I committed to participating

in the 3-Day until a cure is found for breast cancer.

So you can see, I really didn’t need another reason to take

part in the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Unfortunately, the powers that be

thought otherwise. In May, a friend from high school wrote to tell me that

doctors found cancer in her routine mammogram. Teresa is one of the 1.4 million

people that will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. The difference this

time is that Teresa is a friend. Before this diagnosis, she was healthy and

feeling great. Teresa is my age, from my hometown, and has small children, just

like me. Teresa’s diagnosis could just have easily been my own. THAT is why I’m

taking part in the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure!

Teresa’s diagnosis has prompted me to focus my fundraising

efforts this year in her honor. She lives on the other side of the country from

me. I cannot offer to drive her to the chemo treatments. I cannot offer to

babysit her kids or prepare her some meals. Really, all I can do is to raise

money to fund research and support services for people fighting breast cancer. When

September 16th rolls around, I’ll be wearing a T-shirt with Teresa’s

picture. I hope to have the picture surrounded by ribbons representing the

donations received in her honor. Teresa will still be undergoing chemotherapy

treatments while I spend 3.5 long days working toward a cure. Today, Teresa is

a breast cancer survivor. I am working hard so that she carries that label for

another 50+ years.

I know that money is tight for everyone right now. I also

know that if given the choice between a dinner out with the family or possibly

curing breast cancer, you would all choose to cure cancer! Please take a moment

to think about how much a world without breast cancer is worth to you. No

donation is too small, but the larger the donation, the more of an impact it

will have.

To make a donation, simply go to www.the3day.org/goto/kimkuhne  and click on the button “click to donate to

Kim in 2011”. There is a place in the donation process for you to leave me a

message. If you would like your donation to be in honor of Teresa’s fight with

cancer, let me know here.  There are ways

that I can honor other survivors as well, just let me know.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please feel free

to pass this on to others that know Teresa or others simply supporting the

fight against cancer. By working together, we can achieve a World Without

Breast Cancer!

-Kim

(Shenefiel) Kuhne

2x Walker, 3x Training walk leader, 2x Crew Captain for the Seattle

Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure