return to Make A Difference > Local Treasures

Oct 2009  |  By Julie Saltzman  |  Comments (0)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Ann Sciortino of Wilmette Makes Us Laugh (and Cry)

TAGS: Wilmette, cancer survivor, breast cancer, Avon 2-Day Walk

The hot pink gloves, cleats and sweatbands worn by the National Football League players in the October games to support Breast Cancer Awareness month didn’t diminish their tenacity, stamina or strength.

And breast cancer didn’t diminish the tenacity, stamina and strength of Wilmette resident Ann Sciortino. Nor did it take her sense of humor.

In May of 2008, Ann Sciortino was 39 years old and the mother of a 6- and 7-year-old when she received her diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease.

Now cancer free, she completed the Avon 2-Day 26-mile walk in June.

Not to be sidelined as a mother, friend, wife or writer, Sciortino penned her amazing journey on her cancer care page with both heartfelt and funny stories including her account of “feeling slightly winded” while playing a family soccer game 17 weeks into chemo.

Sciortino’s humorous take on the ubiquitous Master Card ads from her care page in February of 2009 is truly priceless:

“My Superbowl Ad”
Finding out your have breast cancer ... shocking
Telling your children on Mother's Day you have cancer ... unimaginable
Waiting for pathology on 13 lymph nodes ... excruciating
Shaving your head with your husband one July day ... surreal
Being referred to as "sir" on more than one occasion ... humiliating
Turning 40 in the middle of chemotherapy ... buzz killing
Finding out you received a placebo in a clinical trial ... devastating
Surviving 20 weeks of chemotherapy ... challenging
Eating food brought to us by so many ... humbling
Feeling the support of incredible people ... uplifting
Playing the cancer "card" when I needed to ... comforting
Watching my sister be over the top nice to me for months ... gratifying
Laughing at the cancer craziness when I needed to ... empowering
Crying at the cancer craziness when I needed to ... cleansing
The joy of a night with my family and friends in a Hummer limousine ... exhilarating
The smile on Chris's and my boys' faces when I walked out of radiation for the last time ... PRICELESS!

For information on the Avon 2 Day Walk
http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_homepage