Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Strength, Hope in Reach to Recovery Program
I can't even describe how talking with a Reach to Recovery volunteer changed my attitude. I realized cancer didn't have to take over my life.
When Cathy Hirsch was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 43, she was worried about going through chemo, and whether she would be able to care for her 2 children, then 8 and 10, and keep up the demands of her job. Now, over 6 years later, she's cancer-free and working full-time to give back to the program she credits with giving her the "gift of hope."
In 2003, Hirsch, a Baltimore, Maryland-based attorney and former journalist, was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. She had a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, and breast reconstruction. When she first got her diagnosis, she says she felt alone. She knew 2 other women who had had breast cancer, but she says "their situations were so different from mine. One found her cancer early, before any treatment other than surgery was needed, and the other had not found her cancer until it was very advanced. I didn't really feel like they would understand what I was going through."
Finding hope through understanding
"Talking to a Reach to Recovery volunteer made such a difference. She and I had really similar backgrounds. She had 2 kids, too, and they were around the same age as mine when she went through treatment. She showed me that cancer didn't have to take over my life. She was a runner, and she still ran while undergoing chemotherapy," Hirsch says.
"That contact was so important to me during my own cancer treatment. I can’t even describe how it changed my attitude. It made me want to give back," Hirsch recalls.
"Reach to Recovery provides support and education that you can't get anywhere else. There are a lot of great Web sites out there for breast cancer patients, but there's nothing like that one-on-one connection with someone who has been through it," Hirsch says. "Another thing that makes Reach to Recovery unique is that it offers patients a vast network of people to connect with. If there's not a program in your area, many times you can find someone who is willing to connect over the phone.".
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