We arrived in Murraysville, PA before 12 PM today. We rode 25 miles from a fabulous stay over in Mt. Pleasant, PA last night. Although we only rode 25 miles, all of us could use a good day of rest before trekking over to Pittsburgh tomorrow. Yesterday the mountains were conquered in rain and terrible storms, but at the end of the day when the weather finally cleared there was a spectacular rainbow that gave a good sign of hope for the rest of the trip.
Today I also got to take part in an amazing Portraits Project when I got to talk with a woman who has battled breast cancer. Although being cancer free for almost 5 years, she could still remember the day she was told she had cancer. I also learned a few new cancer related facts from her battle with cancer. (Also note that when people describe having cancer and trying to rid their body of it they use the term battle, because it destroys not only the body but the mind, too.) One thing that I found interesting from her story was that she used the term "Chemobrain". Not really ever hearing what that was or what it meant, I asked her what she meant by the term Chemobrain. Going through 6 treatments of Chemotherapy the mind becomes foggy and things that were once easily remembered, like taking your pills today, were easily forgot. This may seem common placed for older adults, but she described Chemobrain much more pronounced and much more common due to the types of drugs people are on who have breast cancer. The American Cancer Society has a great link (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MBC/content/MBC_2_3x_Chemobrain.asp?sitearea=MBC) that describes exactly what chemobrain is. She also had a daughter my age and a son who is younger, and the thing that helped her get through the worst days of her treatment where the support and love she found from the family and friends around her. So if you know of anyone who has cancer, a simple card can brighten their day and I encourage everyone to reach out and help out.
"Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars."
-Henry Van Dyke-