Kathy and Lori
Left to right: Lori and Kathy
By Kathy, a Sister Study participant from Indiana
My sister and I grew up in a typical mid-western small town of under 3,000 people. Since we are just under 2 years apart in age, we were great playmates as children and became great rivals as teenagers. She was the neat freak, I was the messy one. She was shy....I wasn’t! Needless to say, I’m sure our sibling “differences” nearly drove our parents crazy.
Just when our lives seemed to be going “as planned”, Lori found a small lump in her breast. I remember the night she called to tell me about it. I could tell by the sound of her voice that it was serious and she was scared. Just a few weeks before this, we had a cousin lose a battle to breast cancer at the age of 41. Lori was insistent about getting a clear diagnosis and within a few days she found out how bad it was. She immediately was scheduled for surgery with chemotherapy and radiation to follow.
Her recovery from surgery was rough since they had to remove more tissue than anticipated. I thought I knew my sister pretty well but seeing her battle this disease let me see a side of her that I didn’t know existed. She was beautiful bald and rarely wore her wig.
The main reason I decided to participate in the Sister Study is simply to honor my sister and all of the women who work so hard in advocating for research. The Sister Study is simply a way that I can share my life with my sister and use that information to further research. Since we don’t have a cancer connection in our family, I found the environmental issue even more intriguing. For two mid-western girls who were raised virtually the same, why did one of us get breast cancer?
As strong Christians, we both feel that God has a hand in everything we do. This disease brought my sister and me closer than we’ve ever been. Since the diagnosis and treatment, she has endured more heartache than most people do in a lifetime yet she continues to put herself and her experience out there for everyone.
To all of you women who have a sister that has battled the disease, join the Sister Study. The study is very simple and not really time consuming at all. The most difficult part of the survey was remembering when I started to wear make up. Or what type of lotions did we use as children. I’m sure Lori got to wear make up before I did, but that’s another story…