GoodyBlog: Q&A with WhyMommy

If you picked up the mag this month, you know we ran a special shout out to our blog-friend, WhyMommy, in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We are proud members of Team WhyMommy, and we thought it’s time to ask all of you GoodyBlog readers to get on board. To fully convince you, check out this Q&A we did with the super-woman, herself.

What is Team WhyMommy?
Team WhyMommy is the brainchild of my close friend, who goes by Canape on the blogs. Her mother was hit by cancer when she was a little girl, and again more recently, and she wanted to do something tangible to help me, her best friend, go through cancer. Since we live a few hours apart, she can't babysit, or cook, or bring me groceries... but she decided that she could help rally support for me with our friends in the blogosphere. And she’s done that in a major, major way. She put up a post at her site on June 29, and started spreading the word. As of today, over 100 bloggers have joined Team WhyMommy, and nearly 200 bloggers have posted about me and/or my post on inflammatory breast cancer on their blog.

How is Team WhyMommy helping you?
They're keeping me company. They're being my friends. When I first found out I had breast cancer, I think my biggest fear was going through chemotherapy and treatment alone. It's hard to hear—one day, I was going to playgroup with my toddler and my 5 month old, and the next day, I was going to the oncologist for a biopsy and hearing that I would have to go through chemotherapy, a masectomy, and radiation. My world turned upside down.

Is blogging helping you get through this tough time?
Yes. Blogging for me is a way to talk about my feelings, my worries, my joys, and my fears without overloading those closest to me or boring those who aren't so close! It's a lot like keeping a journal, and then opening it to hundreds of your closest friends for comment. The most wonderful part about it (besides the ability to update my friends and family all at once, instead of stressfully on the phone each night) is the wealth of information and supportive comments that my readers leave for me in return each day. Often, I'll have a terrible day, write about it, and come back a few hours later to find cheery messages from friends. It does wonders to lift my spirits.

Read more about WhyMommy and her amazing little kids after the jump!

Tell me a little bit about your cancer and what it means for the upcoming months.
I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very fast-moving, aggressive breast cancer that kills 60% of the women it hits within 5 years. This cancer often looks like mastitis and is misdiagnosed in many women for years, limiting their treatment options and chances of success. It is very important for women who have ANY of the symptoms to call their doctor TODAY to talk about it and ask to come in "to rule out ibc." (for more on the cancer, please click here and copy at will)

The treatments are improving, but they're no walk in the park. Two weeks after my diagnosis, I had my first chemotherapy treatment. It knocked my socks off! All summer and fall I will be on the chemo roller coaster. Evey three weeks, I spend a day in the chemotherapy infusion unit with a dozen other women and men, getting the drugs put into me through an IV that will hopefully shrink my cancer. The next few days, I can do nothing but rest. At Christmas, if the cancer has shrunk sufficiently, I'll have a radical masectomy to remove my breast. After I've fully recovered, I'll start a course of radiation treatments.

Tell me about your babies! All about them!
My babies are the light of my life. My infant was born in January, so he'll be 10 months in October. He's a delightful Little Bear, growling when he wants something, grunting when he reaches for a toy, and singing along with Grandma when she sings him to sleep. He has the most beautiful smile that makes me just melt inside. It was he actually who knew about the cancer well before I did— he refused to nurse on that side from birth. I thought that he had a problem, but it was me, all along!

My toddler is turning three this month, and he is such a joy. He loves to build forts, play trains, race cars, pretend to cook with his little wooden kitchen, take walks, race his tricycle up and down the sidewalk, and most of all, "go see friends." So we have a playdate several times a week, thanks to a great MOMS Club chapter and an awesome playgroup. When we hosted a 4th of July barbecue for our playgroup just after my diagnosis, everyone came, brought snacks and desserts, and had a wonderful time together. They also brought and wore the most beautiful pink t-shirts that they had crafted to say "Team WhyMommy." MOMS Club members have also babysat my kids, brought me dinners, and dropped off a fun bag of things to lift my mood (like chocolate!) each morning I go to Chemo. They’re my awesome playgroup, the local part of Team WhyMommy!

Quite an amazing woman, right? So what are you waiting for? Head over to WhyMommy and join the team today!