Since there was so much cancer in my family I figured it was only a matter of when and where for me. Both of my grandmothers and an aunt had had breast cancer. One of my cousins had died when she was 17 from cervical cancer. I discovered a lump in my breast in September 2002 during the time I was planning my wedding which was about a month away. My husband and I had gotten married in his mother’s living room. She was dying of cervical cancer. We were married on Friday afternoon October 8, 1999 and she passed away on Sunday morning. We had to wait three years before I could get married in my church, so I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of our joyous time. I decided to see the doctor after my wedding ceremony was over. I knew it was going to be cancer. Unfortunately I was correct. I had Stage 3 breast cancer with spread to 5 of 15 nodes. I have three children; my youngest, Anne was 17 at the time. I was 17 when my mother died from ovarian cancer. It brought back a lot of sad memories for me and I found of all the people I told, it was the hardest to tell her. It was also very hard to tell my father.
I was fortunate that I work at a hospital that has a cancer center. I didn’t get that sick during my treatments but I wasn’t happy that Chemo had changed my sense of taste. Much to my dismay chocolate tasted like dirt. I went through a Mastectomy, six months of Chemotherapy and a twenty eight radiation treatments. I wasn’t fearful of the treatments. The only time I was afraid was when I started to feel dizzy and have “Chemo” brain during radiation treatments. I was afraid that the cancer had spread to my brain. Fortunately it has not. Financially this time is a disaster. I had 2 jobs and a business before my diagnosis. I continued to work part time at my full time job during Chemo and went back full time during radiation. I found my life although it didn’t stop; it certainly revolved a lot around my health more than I wanted it to.
I believe that people approach the news and their treatment much like they approach things in their lives. I am a practical joker and love a good joke even when it is on me. I had very long hair and of course it all fell out during Chemo. I occasionally wore a wig. It was the winter time when I started my treatments. In the spring when my neighbors all start to come outside again, the little girl next door told me she liked my new haircut. I told her it was a magic haircut and lifted up my wig. Wow! She said that’s great and her parents and I had a good laugh. Another neighbor’s four year old asked what happened to my hair, I told him I lost it. He then began to look around the yard with me for it.
I found out about survivor diver from a pamphlet my husband had picked up. We had been to the Komen Center for a lecture on lymphedema. He thought I might like to read about it since I swam a lot when I was young. I called the next day and it turned out the first meeting of survivor Diver was that night. I called home and said I wouldn’t be home for dinner. My husband didn’t think I would really do this. I thought it was great and was very excited about the whole idea of diving, especially doing underwater photography.
I asked everyone I knew at work that was a breast cancer survivor if they wanted to do this with me. The response was all the same, No. and your not afraid to do this? It never occurred to me to be afraid. I have been through motherhood, a mastectomy and cancer treatments. I don’t think that there is too much more out there that is more frightening than these things.
I enjoyed taking the scuba lessons. There was so much to remember but as each new skill was learned and mastered we all gained more confidence. I only “Tanked Out” twice during the lessons . But it didn’t deter my enthusiasm or sense of adventure. The other survivor Divers were very supportive. It took a lot of tries for me to get to neutral buoyancy and I went an extra time to get all my skills down.

Our trip to Port Lucaya in the Bahamas to get our open water certification is endearing to me. To experience Lisa’s generosity and encouragement, Anna Maria’s lightheartedness and “brilliant” enthusiasm for the sport of diving and my fellow Survivor divers Michelle and Stephanie’s courage taking that first giant stride into 3 ft choppy waves will always be a sweet, tender memory for me. Another great moment was when the rest of the divers on our boat all cheered and clapped for us when we finished our last dive and became certified open water divers. “Welcome to the addiction !” The feeling I had after we had completed all of our skills tests and we went down to 50 feet to explore was like crawling out of a hole and having this amazing new world open up to me. I was in a giant fish tank with no walls in sight.
This experience has inspired my husband to learn to swim. He has started taking swimming lessons. My daughter plans to take scuba next spring at the U of Md. so we can dive together. For me, I am proud that I did this and I am determined to get more physically active and become physically fit. I look forward to many more dives and meeting a lot of new people. I would highly recommend this to other breast cancer survivors. It’s a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun also.

This August 8th it will be one year after all my treatments were finished. When I look back upon all that has happened to me this past year and all the kindness I encountered from my coworkers and friends, it has made be realize how truly blessed I am and become humbly grateful for all that I have in my life.

Fondly,

Peg Kinch