Katie

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Katie Edick is a 41 years old metastatic breast cancer thriver.  Happily married for 14 years to the greatest, selfless man on earth, Brent.  They have two amazing children Drew, 13 and Anna, 10.  Katie has been an occupational therapist for 17 years.  Working for Ionia County Intermediate School district for 12 years in the Early On birth to three program.  She also worked part time at Grand Valley State University as a clinical affiliate, teaching master level occupational therapy students.  Katie enjoys trips to Mackinac Island, one of her happy places, and time with family and friends. She is blessed by family and friends that are supporting her through this new life chapter.  Stage 4 breast cancer will not define her or be a measure of her worth.  She is so much more.  Choosing Joy every step of the way as she navigates her new story. Advocate may be her next title.

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Katies Story

The moment that changed the rest of my life:  October 13th, 2016. I turned 40 in August and had my first mammogram in October. I have always been an over achiever so not only did I get a mammogram but in the same morning I also got an ultrasound and biopsies to my breast and lymph nodes.  The whole experience was extremely traumatic as everything happen so fast and totally unexpected. The only grace is that things moved very fast and I was diagnosed and began treatment within a few weeks. From the biopsies, initial staging thought to be 2b, invasive ductal carcinoma, triple positive. I had one more test to go since it was in my lymph nodes and the PET scan showed that the cancer was in my spine and liver so stage 4 right out the door. There is no cure for stage 4 breast cancer. Statistic say the average life span is 3 years. That is daunting to hear.  To know that you are terminal.  I have cried and prayed a lot. It has been a year of self-discovery and coming to terms with my new normal. I have Hope. Statistic are old and I am going to crush it. Currently, I am NEAD (no evidence of active disease). I will have scan every 3 to 4 months. I will have infusions every 3 weeks and daily oral medicines. There will be a time when the cancer will wake up and spread. I am hopeful that it will be a long time before that happens.  New medicines are coming down the pipes; so the longer I am here the better options there will be. That is why research is very important.  Metavivor.org is a great organization to donate to as 100% of donations goes towards researching for metastatic breast cancer.  

There is a sense of anxiety living with cancer.  It is like a ticking time bomb.  I have been finding ways to cope with my new life. Being a part of the crowns of courage was one of my first steps in taking back my life; embracing cancer and what it has stolen from me. Having my hair fall out from chemo was gut wrenching and this outward physical sign made it all the more real. I identified with my hair. It was long, brown and beautiful; I felt it was one of my best features. To have it fall out in clumps was so awful. So much so that I had my friend and hair stylist shave it off with the help of my children.  I initially hid my bald head, but doing crowns of courage showed me the beauty in bald. The strength in bald. The person I am, living with cancer. I stepped up to own my life and live it out loud.   

Since the initial photo shoot the henna crowning has taken on a bigger deeper meaning.  Having my mantras and symbols that are so very special to me henna tattooed on my body touched me in my soul. It has imprinted my mantras deeply to my core and helped me focus on what is important to me.  “Faith not fear” and “choosing joy.” I face this beast with sunshine on my shoulders. So having a sunflower on my back was very significant; as it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that I found on Pinterest, “I want to be like a sunflower, so that even on the darkest days I will stand tall and find the sunlight.” There is something calming having someone lay the henna on your body.  The smell of the oils and the beautiful conversation. You can forget about cancer for a while. 

I loved having the henna on my arms too: “warrior” and “I will walk by faith.”  I travel for my job and after chemo I felt very sick.  Some days I did not know if I could make it to the next client.  I would look at my arms and remember that I am a warrior and I could power through the day.

I have had henna numerous times since.  Each time I learn something more about myself. I have looked into the mandala which is a design used frequently with henna and recognize the beauty and meaning to the designs on my body. It is healing. It is empowering. I am so happy that I was a part of this amazing project. If you want to read more about my story, follow my blog at metastaticandmakarios.blogspot.com.

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