{"id":21729,"date":"2014-04-17T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/?p=21729"},"modified":"2014-12-10T12:40:50","modified_gmt":"2014-12-10T17:40:50","slug":"looking-forward-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/looking-forward-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"The Park Avenue Wig: One Mom’s Journey to Beating Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I keep thinking about the last episode of Sex and the City<\/em> where Samantha gives a speech I keep thinking about the last episode of at a Cancer benefit saying, \u201cShe’s brave, she’s capable, she’s you. Oh f*@k it she’s me.\u201d Watching that episode in 2004 with my college friends, I would have never imaged having a wig called the \u201cPark Avenue\u201d that I wear to cover a main side effect from the chemo that I received to cure my Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma.<\/p>\n

When first diagnosed, I feared that I was going to miss something in my kids’ lives – either from being sick from treatment or if treatment didn\u2019t work. I remember having a panic attack one night with my husband. The only thing that was able to stop me from completely hyperventilating was thinking that if I did need medical intervention, then what would I do with my sleeping kids?<\/p>\n

Looking back, I still can\u2019t believe how different my life is than last year at this time. In July of 2013, I woke up one Saturday morning with pain in my wrists and in my sternum, took some Motrin and tried to relax – not the easiest thing to do as a mother of 2. On Monday I went to work – for the last 10 years I have been a Pediatric Nurse at NYU Medical Center. My boss took one look at me and told me to go home. I had a low-grade fever and just didn\u2019t feel good. For some reason, I decided to go to the doctor. Mine wasn\u2019t in, so I saw a doctor who, to me, looked like a teenager. He told me I was dehydrated and needed to drink Gatorade.<\/p>\n

The next morning, my wrists hurt so much I couldn\u2019t get my daughter out of her crib. By the end of that week I had seen 2 more doctors, had countless blood tests, and no answers. It was one of these doctors, a Rheumatologist, who, after an appointment while we were talking in the hallway, looked at me and said, \u201cYou look like you are breathing a little fast and have a little swelling on your right clavicle.\u201d That led to an X-ray, which led to a Cat Scan, which over the next 2 months led to me seeing a hematologist and a pulmonologist who both said, \u201cIts not a lymphoma\u201d (since I didn\u2019t have any of the classic symptoms).<\/p>\n

In September, as a follow-up and with no remaining symptoms, I had another Cat Scan followed by 2 biopsies before finally receiving my diagnosis of Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma, Stage 2A Unfavorable. Over the last 6 months I have had chemo, surgeries, ER visits, an overnight hospitalization and radiation. Just like Smith\u2019s note to Samantha in the last episode of Sex and the City<\/em>, I have been \u201clooking forward to spring\u201d for my new start as a survivor (and for my hair to grow back!)<\/p>\n

\"Last
Last Day of chemo January 23, 2014
Last Day of radiation March 19, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that I have clear scans and I can officially say that I am cancer-free, I feel like I just can\u2019t go back to my normal life as a part- time nurse, super hero UWS mom and wife. I want to make sure that my cancer changes me in some way for the better. Ironically, I ran and fundraised with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society\u2019s (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) in 2008 and completed the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon in San Francisco. That race I ran in honor and memory of the oncology patients whom I help everyday at work. This year, I decided to join Moms in Training, a new branch of the LLS, to run the Oakley Women\u2019s New York Mini 10K in June. I am so excited to meet and run with other moms who want to help cure Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and other Cancers and I am very happy to be part of the amazing cause that has saved my life.<\/p>\n

\"Pre-season
Pre-season training for Moms in Training with my daughter
March 30, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Throughout this process, I was constantly looking for other moms to talk to who had been through a similar experience. Yes, I have my amazing mommy friends who will listen to me complain about my \u201cblack cloud\u201d of a medical year that my family has been having, but I wanted to know how someone could live in NYC, work, raise kids, be a wife and Kick Cancer\u2019s Ass. Now I want to be that person for someone else. I am so lucky that my Rheumatologist decided to send me for that X-ray and that it was caught. I am so lucky that I have an amazing support network of family and friends. I am so lucky that I have two children who remind me of what is most important in life. I am so lucky that there are organizations out there that care. But mostly, I am just so lucky.<\/p>\n

Like what you read?<\/span> Sign up<\/a> for our free newsletter so you can be informed of the latest FREE <\/span>webinars & teleclasses,<\/a> parenting articles, & weekly raffles.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Rubinstein is a 34 year old mom of 2 who lives with her husband on the UWS in Manhattan. She is a part time nurse, full time mom, and cancer survivor. She is running with Moms in Training<\/a> to raise funds and awareness for cancers including Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma of which she was diagnosed in the fall of 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor\u2019s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I keep thinking about the last episode of Sex and the City where Samantha gives a speech I keep thinking about the last episode of at a Cancer benefit saying, \u201cShe’s brave, she’s capable, she’s you. Oh f*@k it she’s me.\u201d Watching that episode in 2004 with my college friends, I would have never imaged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[46,53,76],"class_list":["post-21729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moms","tag-activities","tag-health","tag-support"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/looking-forward-spring\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Park Avenue Wig: One Mom’s Journey to Beating Cancer","url":"http:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/looking-forward-spring\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/mommybites.com\/newyork\/looking-forward-spring\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Moms","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"laurenrubinstein"}],"creator":["laurenrubinstein"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mommybites New York","logo":""},"keywords":["activities","health","support"],"dateCreated":"2014-04-17T12:00:09Z","datePublished":"2014-04-17T12:00:09Z","dateModified":"2014-12-10T17:40:50Z"},"rendered":"