AVON, Ohio–Lisa Creedon never knew she was sick, but a call last February forever changed her life.
“It was early in the morning,” she said. “We were getting the kids ready for school and my breast surgeon called me at home, and it changed my life forever. It was hard, very hard.”
Creedon was eventually diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer. She was 41 years old.
“Before chemo, the first thing I did before I lost my hair was go get a wig, and it’s still sitting in the box that it came in. It never went on my head,” she said.”
Multiple surgeries and a round of chemo followed. It didn’t just take a toll on her daily life, but also her husband and three kid’s.
Her husband, Mike, has been there from the beginning, but at times, he admits, he didn’t know what to do.
“You know, life changes,” he said. “We didn’t draw the card. It drew us. You move along and you try to cope and try to create a normalcy. It’s not always the easiest thing to do.”
The Creedon’s say their go-to spot is The Gathering Place, a community that helps families through things like retreats, support groups and reading materials. All services are free of charge.
Located in Westlake and Beachwood, Gathering Place also offers special support services for caregivers.
“Men that are supporting these women want to fix it, want to make it all better,” said Susan Marinac, a program specialist for The Gathering Place. “Men are fixers, and when they can’t make it better, it’s very difficult. And these caregivers have a very high level of anxiety.”
Yet, Mike’s made light of the situation, but Lisa said her favorite surprise was on the one-year anniversary of her diagnosis.
He surprised her with a party and a box of letters and special tokens from friends and family–a gift she cherishes today.
“He contacted my friends and family and had them write letters of support,” Lisa said. “My daughter made this at the Race for the Cure. Kept a little bit of my old hair.”
Today, Lisa’s prognosis looks good. Her next doctors appointment is six months from now–a big change from constant visits over the past year.
Now, Lisa, Mike and the kids hope to move forward to build a life beyond breast cancer.
“You don’t go back to how you were before,” Lisa said. “For us, that’s frankly been a good thing. It’s made us slow down, get off that hamster wheel and realize what’s really important.”
On Thursday, Oct. 20, The Gathering Place is offering a free workshop, featuring Marc Silver, author of “Breast Cancer Husband: How to Help Your Wife (And Yourself) Through Diagnosis, Treatment and Beyond.
The workshop is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 23300 Commerce Park, Beachwood, Ohio.
For more information, go to http://www.touchedbycancer.org/