cancer awareness month · 2018-10-23 · cancer awareness month share in the hope – join in the...

breastcancer

AWARENESS MONTHSHARE IN THE HOPE – JOIN IN THE FIGHTBreast Cancer Stories … in Vantel Pearls Consultants’ Own Words

DARLENE FERRARO

I lost my twin sister, Debbie, to breast cancer that metastasized. She fought 12 years. She was diagnosed at the age of 33.

Seven years later in 2007, I was diagnosed. Debbie lost her battle in 2012, and I am a survivor.

My life sure isn’t and never will be the same for me without my soul mate, but I know she is always by my side.

I love the sister-love I have with my Vantel Pearls sisters and am so grateful to be a part of this amazing company.

Thank you for honoring the woman and men who have survived this disease and for the ones who lost their battle.

No one fights alone!! Thank you Vantel Pearls!

DIANE VASQUEZI have been a caregiver. I watched and cared for my mother as she battled breast cancer. My neighbor had breast cancer. I help others as I am a lymphedema therapist.

I was diagnosed 2/10/16 with breast cancer. I had my first mammogram in November of 2015. It came back negative, but I knew something was not right. I am taught to watch skin, and there was slight change but not your normal symptoms. So it took 3 more months of me pushing and waiting until something was palpable for the doctor to order further testing. I was my own advocate.

I was fortunate to participate in a phase 2 clinical trial to treat Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). There is not a specific chemotherapy treatment for this type of very aggressive breast cancer BUT I was referred to an oncologist who had success in my type of cancer (not available outside of UCI Medical Center). 12 infusions over 14 weeks. I was put on 2 chemo holidays because my immune system was too low. I lost my hair twice, all of it. I didn’t mind. I was given so much love and saw such beauty, kindness and love from my family, friends and even strangers that my heart overflowed with gratitude.

After I had my mastectomy, I was told that I had two separate tumors and I would have to do 2 more chemotherapy regimens (4 Adriamycin/Cytoxan and 16 herceptin/perjeta). These would target the estrogen and Her2 positive cancer. This is where it got really scary. Adriamycin aka the RED DEVIL damaged my heart. I am now on heart meds for life. As if that was not enough, I had 30 consecutive radiation treatments as well.

It has almost been a complete year since my very last chemo 10/16/17. I am currently recovering from delayed breast reconstruction. I am going on 4 months. I had complications. What people are unaware of is that after chemo, surgery and radiation comes the aftermath. There is weakness, fatigue, memory loss, weakened immune system, complications and sometimes more surgery. I have one more to go (at least). I have to wait and slowly pick up the pieces and rebuild from the very cellular level.

So I found Vantel Pearls, from a friend that kept sharing Pick a Pearl with Jess. At this point, I was so sick from chemo, I couldn’t even get out of bed and was heavily medicated. I couldn’t talk and rarely messaged anyone back because I absolutely had no energy or strength (I didn’t know I had heart damage at that point). So I would listen to the pearl parties. I liked the sound the oysters made and was super curious to see what was inside. What drew me in was the lavender pearls! Lavender was my mom’s favorite color and she LOVED pearls. I remember going pearl shopping with her when I was little. I felt as if she was sending me sign that she was with me through my journey. My mom died 6 months before my diagnosis, and I had my 2nd miscarriage a week after she passed. I kept watching the parties. I slowly started asking questions and interacting with the

pearl community. It was a way to rejoin the world from the safety of my bed. I wasn’t just sleeping my life away and not so isolated even though I was quarantined to my room. As time went on, I became friends with Shalome who then introduced me to Gwen Cornell, my upline. From the moment we began talking, her words spoke to my heart.

I have been blessed to meet these ladies. They gave me the opportunity to reconnect in a safe way. I feel my cancer is much like a pearl. An irritant was placed within. As a pearl builds layer after layer, it makes something beautiful. My cancer was horrible but I have had to rebuild cell by cell. I found my strength and perseverance. I saw goodness and hope. I have a village. A beautiful village that surrounds me.

Cancer makes you become very present because you never know what is going to happen. I am done with treatment but a new pain or ache makes me worry that it has come back. That is something every survivor has in the back of their mind. Every day now is a gift. I wake up in gratitude. I didn’t fight but I gave my cancer love. I gave it love so it would leave my body willingly. I take one day at a time and know my journey will take as long as it needs to take and will end when it ends. Until then, I hope to give back and help someone reconnect. Vantel Pearls is a beautiful company with a caring foundation. I am blessed to be a part of it.

P.S. I am not BRCA positive. My breast cancer is not genetic nor the same as my mom’s. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but I like to also stress RESEARCH. I have become friends with many survivors and those who are METAvivors. These ladies are living with cancer that has metastasized and have spread through their bodies. They are considered terminal and there is not a cure...yet.

Be your Own Advocate! It may save your life. It saved mine.

ELISA PALERMO

Just let me start by saying how grateful I am to be working for a company that gives back!

But a company that gives back to Susan G Komen foundation is amazing!

My family has WON many battles with Breast Cancer! Let me start with my Aunt who died at the age of 30 to this horrible disease! Then myself at the age of 16, I had my first lump removed from my left breast.

Shortly after that my mother had her battle with it, and my sister at the age of 26 had a full Mastectomy after the delivery of her twin babies! Then shortly after that, at the age of 23 I had my second lump removed!

Thankfully after many years of everyone’s health on the up and up, my father at the age of 73 had to have a mastectomy on his left breast! Never in my life would I have thought we would be “one of the few men” to have this done! Thankfully there after his treatments all is well!!!

We are now currently praying for my Aunt who just found out [this month] that she will have to have a full mastectomy...and we are currently waiting to hear the date of that, and what treatments she will have to have!

So yes, this October I will be pushing our Breast Cancer Specials with a good reason! And again, I will be forever grateful to have the opportunity to work for an amazing company who gives back to this, for a GOOD reason!

Thank you for all you do! To some hearts it’s the “little” things that mean so much!

SHARE IN THE HOPE – JOIN IN THE FIGHTBreast Cancer Stories … in Vantel Pearls Consultants’ Own Words

HONNALEA COMBS

I am HonnaLea Combs (Pearlescent Dreams), and I lost my Aunt Jane to breast cancer several years ago. She battled for years, back and forth, in and out of remission. She was such a strong woman! Even through the pain she always had a smile on her face—always laughing! She was such a bright light even going through such a harsh, disgusting time in her life!

Being with Vantel Pearls—and knowing you donate to such an amazing cause—makes me feel honored to be a part of this growing company!

It is also allowing me to honor my Aunt Jane!! Showing support for all those who have lost their journey to this ugly disease, as well as beating it!!!! I’m using Vantel Pearls to promote awareness!!!

Thank you for doing the breast cancer collection and donating $2 and $5 to research to find a cure!!!!


JEAN KELLEY

I was diagnosed with stage 1 DCIS in November of 2013. I had a mastectomy on December 20, 2013.

Since then I have had a total of 16 surgeries, with my last on this past January 14, 2018, for reconstruction.

I was fortunate to have caught this early (per yearly mammogram), as I did not need chemo or radiation.

I discovered Kristie Haynes one night while I was having a hard recovery and she made forget about my pain and made me smile. I have watched and fell in LOVE with the whole concept of Vantel Pearls. I have not been able to work since my diagnosis, and my amazing husband Tom has been the sole provider for the past five years.

I knew I wanted to be a part of this amazing pearl family and finally made the cut this last July. Being a Vantel Pearl Consultant gives me the opportunity to help provide some financial support to our family while not being tied to a 9-to-5 job, as some days are better than others.

It gives me the opportunity for my platform on how very important it is to get your mammograms and share my experience so that I may help others at the same time. The shucking is the best part!

She BELIEVED she could, AND she did!!! Thank you Vantel Pearls and my amazing team! Feeling blessed.


RAVEN WHITE

My name is Raven White. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on her birthday in 2006, three months before I was due to give birth to my first born child. After she notified me of this heart dropping news, we then found out it was a very aggressive type, HER2.

After 7 months of 2 different chemo treatments, surgery, and radiation, God kept her here with the ones who love her unconditionally! I am her only daughter, so the thought of losing the most important woman in my life was beyond heartbreaking! No words to describe those feelings. I had to be strong for her.

There are no words to describe how thankful I am for her! She has always been the biggest fighter I know and definitely my inspiration!

Thanks for allowing me to share part of my story! Vantel Pearls has helped me with this area of my life from amazing support, connecting with amazing women who share similar/different stories, inspiring jewelry, and being in a position to inspire others! Thank you Vantel Pearls!

My mother is an 11-year breast cancer survivor! To God be the glory!


SARAH MCALLISTER

My grandmother, Delphine Norton, passed away due to breast cancer in 1984. She was the kindest, most involved person in my young life. I was in first grade when she passed. By the time I got into high school, I found a way to make a difference by volunteering with the American Cancer Society and their Relay for Life program.

My dad owned a disc jockey service, and he used it to provide sound and lighting to Relay events. These events last 24 hours, and he and I would take shifts DJ’ing, between walking the track for our team to raise money for Relay. I was able to do this with my dad all through high school at northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan local high schools. Through my 20s, I continued to volunteer my time with the American Cancer Society doing Relays.

In my mid-thirties, after suffering a terrible miscarriage, I discovered I had cervical cancer stage IIIB. After surgery and treatments, I was cleared and we decided to try again to have a child. My rainbow baby, Alice Trinity McAllister, was born four years ago on September 3.

I make sure I have my screenings annually, and I am still involved with Relay for Life. I’m hoping Alice will continue this family tradition down the road, volunteering and supporting the American Cancer Society’s global phenomenon, the Relay for Life, raising much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer (more than 4 million people in over 20 countries now participate).

Alice watches my pearl shows in a different room while I’m live, but afterwards she excitedly “helps” me clean up. She LOVES to count the oysters when we put them away. Vantel Pearls gives me a way to be a hero to a four-year-old—that means more to me that she will ever know.


TRACY OLDFATHERI became a consultant with Vantel Pearls in August of 2014. I worked hard to establish a great customer base, believing my Hostesses and their guests were more like friends instead of customers. Little did I know how correct I was in my belief.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2017. I was shocked. No one in my family had ever had breast cancer. I was the first. I numbly met with doctors, not truly understanding what was happening. I went to appointment after appointment, listening but not really hearing what was being said.

Then I became angry. Why me? Why did I get this horrible disease? I had recently lost 30 lbs. I was eating healthier and exercising. Why me and why now? The anger I felt was just what I needed. It sparked the real Tracy into action.

I began my research. I read websites and forums, absorbing all the information I could about the disease, the treatments and the aftermath. I became an expert on the subject. There was very little I could not answer myself. After some encouragement, I began posting my story on Facebook. I didn’t post medical information. I posted about me. How I was feeling, what I needed from friends, simple, pure emotions. I had FB friends comment, but more often than not, they sent me private messages. They asked how to perform a monthly breast exam, what to look for, how to know something was wrong. You see I found my cancer myself, but only because it hurt. “Breast cancer doesn’t hurt” is one of the biggest lies about the disease. Mine hurt, and if it had not, I might not be writing this story. I always encourage women to get mammograms but I push harder for the monthly self-exam. It’s so very important to know your breasts and know when something is different with them.

By posting my journey on FB, I was able to encourage friends to get their mammograms. I educated them on the fact there are so many different types of breast cancer, treatments are different, side effects are different. Just like pearls, no two treatments are the same and no one reacts the same to the drugs used.

I have completed surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, but I will remain on medication for the next 10 years. The side effects I experience from the medication are horrible. There are four types of medication used for patients like me. I have tried all four and am contemplating stopping the medication completely due to side effects. There are no others for me to try.

During my treatments, I was sick and I had no energy. I put myself on restriction of going out in public due to the issues with my immune system. I rarely ventured out except to go to my regular job. I am the only office worker at my job. I may have left work early for appointments, but I only missed 6 full days of work during my treatments. This I am very proud of.

As a Vantel Pearls consultant, we have a quota to meet. I could have asked for a leave of absence but I chose not to. Instead, my wonderful customers, the ones I always

considered friends, ensured I met my quota. They stepped up and were there for me. For this, I am eternally grateful.

Cancer changed me in many ways. I am even more grateful for each day I am alive. More grateful for the friends I still have, as you do realize who is a true friend when going through something like breast cancer. More grateful for family and friends who kept my mailbox full of gifts and cards to brighten my days.

I am now even more grateful for my husband, Billy. We have always had a close bond but now it is even stronger. Without his care, kindness, understanding, patience, sense of humor and love, my journey would have been so much harder.

Regardless of how many friends and family you are surrounded by, ultimately, breast cancer is your journey alone. Cancer can do a lot of things to you, but you should never allow it to break your fighting spirit.

I’ve included a collage of photos instead of one selfie. I think of it as the faces of cancer. My first day of chemotherapy, my last chemotherapy treatment, when my hair came back completely gray and my current photo with short curly hair instead of long straight hair. Cancer changes you, not just physically but emotionally and mentally.

Breast cancer is a life sentence. Yes, you can beat it, but you always have the thought in the back of your mind as to when it’s going to come back. You try not to dwell on that thought but it’s still there.

I could write so much more. How not hiding my bald head encouraged others who had their own journey to talk to me about what they went thru. How standing in line at a store one day, a complete stranger handed me cash because she felt she should. How strangers were kinder, smiled more and held doors open when I did venture out in public. Maybe one day I will put it all in a book. Until then, I will keep trying to make it through my days, being grateful for all the little things. This brings to mind our Inspirations Necklaces. Gratitude was the first one I bought. Blessed is on my list. I am truly both.

cancer awareness month · 2018-10-23 · cancer awareness month share in the hope – join in the...

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