PHOTO: Lee Clower
(Cross-posted at MommaSaid.net)My toes were slowly losing their feeling in those ridiculously high heels — 5 inches of pure torture. As the photographer for Parenting magazine’s “Moms Who Faced Cancer and Won” feature instructed us, ten survivors, to yell “F–k you, cancer!” at the camera one more time, I remembered that the last time I’d lost feeling in my toes was during chemotherapy.The irony was not lost on me.
When fellow survivor and blogger Erin Zammett Ruddy had asked me if I’d like to be a part of an article about moms and cancer, I said yes, not realizing it would mean I’d end up in pink snakeskin pants and 5-inch Nicole Miller heels, rocking out to Nirvana and sipping Champagne in Manhattan photography studio.
You had me at Parenting, Erin. The rest was a delightfully wonderful bonus.
I got to meet a bunch of moms who, like me, have faced cancer and kicked its butt. Between shots, we’d sit on the couches together and chat about treatments, kids and how many of us had bone pain from the white blood cell boosters. (Turns out, many of us, though we had been lead to believe it was a rare side effect.)
Yeah, I ditched the shoes here.
In the article, I got to tell it like it is, or I guess, was, when I had cancer. I’m grateful to Erin and to Parenting for putting cancer into a magazine about raising kids, because there are so many of us dealing with parenting with cancer. And, sadly, there will be many more. The more we share how parenting with cancer was — or is — for us, the better it is for all of us. So if you have or had cancer while parenting, consider sharing your story here by clicking on the envelope icon and shooting me an e-mail with PWC Profile in the subject line.You can wear whatever shoes you’d like.Rock on.
I’m so pleased to see this here. I shot it and have not even seen the edit yet!
Very nice to see here and I loved shooting and meeting all the ‘players’.