I received a supportive email from my friend Tony tonight, recounting how he wished there was a site like this one (we'll maybe the site it will be someday anyway) when his wife was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Tony and his wife were some of the first to reach out to us when my wife was first diagnosed. They knew we were going organic and improving our diets, and they showed up sporting 3 or 4 sacks of Wild Oats (now Whole Foods) groceries. It had to cost at least a couple hundred dollars, maybe more, to buy all the stuff they gave us. But more valuable than any groceries or gifts, is the support they've provided.
One of the things Tony recommended to me was the Breast Cancer Husband book by Mark Silver. There's a lot of good content in there, and it helped put into perspective a number of things we were going through and that were coming up in my wife's treatment. I'm one of those people who likes information, even if it's the "hard to hear" kind. The book helped a lot with all the up front steps of diagnosis and treatment options, like chemo, radiation, mastectomy, etc. But it kind of left the trail when it came to what happens after you start treatment. What should you expect? What's "normal" or at least what we perceive to be normal? I think that's part of what I'm trying to accomplish here on this blog, after you decided what to do and start doing it, then what happens.
I'm hoping Tony might guest post by looking back on his breast cancer husband experience now that his wife (a fantastic person, just like Tony, btw) has remained cancer free since going through treatments. If that's something Tony is comfortable doing, it would be a pleasure to have his experience be part of this blog. And if he chooses not to contribute, or just doesn't feel the calling, that's okay too. Not everyone wants to or is comfortable sharing challenging and private experiences.
I hope you'll check out the Breast Cancer Husband book. It's a very good book and I thank Tony for recommending it to me, and thank both he and his wife for the support they've provided us.
