Today I am using this blog to hit y'all up for a donation in honor of a fellow twin Mother, Lisa. Nick and I met Lisa and her husband, Bill, in our multiples-birthing class. Less than two weeks before Lisa was expecting the arrival of her twinfant girls, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I will attach her story so you can read her experience in her own words. As rough as I thought we had it, our stay in the NICU and all, I realized that when we got to leave, we would not have to battle breast cancer upon our return home. Lisa has been so brave and strong throughout her treatment, her spirit never ceases to amaze me. Lisa's friend, Tammy, has helped in the fight for a cure for breast cancer by creating "Team Rothschild" for the Mother's Day 5k Race for the Cure. Nick, Lucy, Marigny and I are walking with Team Rothschild to support their team and to honor and remember those who have battled breast cancer. That's you Great Aunt Karen and Kay!! If you are interested in making a donation or want to just want to learn more, here is the link to the donation page:

http://www.active.com/donate/komentc07/TKurak

Thanks in advance for those who are able to help out!

Bill holding Jaydin, Lisa holding Adison

My name is Lisa Rothschild, I am 33 years old, a mother, wife, daughter, sister and aunt, and now I am a breast cancer survivor. This is my story.

The year of 2006 would become anything other than ordinary. It started out with happy news from my fertility doctor that I was pregnant. Weeks later Bill and I learned we were having twin girls in October. With every passing month my belly grew and by August I was enormous. Mid September was my goal for the twins and as the days came and went all I could do was focus on making it another day then another week, my babies must stay in as long as they could. Sometime during the month of September I discovered a painful lump in my right breast. I figured it was just a plugged milk duct, but I told my doctor anyways. Not taking any chances, he arranged to have an ultrasound and biopsy done at the University of MN Breast Center immediately. Breast cancer does not run in my family, so I believed there was nothing to be concerned about. On Wednesday, September 27^th 2006, I had an ultrasound and needle biopsy done and was told it would take a day or two for the pathology report to come back. I still was not concerned. The very next day I received an unexpected phone call from my ob doctor, I could hear the somber tone in his voice as he asked me how I was doing. My heart began racing as he told me it was cancer, Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. My world came to a stop that day, and as I sat alone all I could do was hold my belly and cry. My babies were due in 5 days and in some way I think my life flashed before my eyes. I was in shock and terrified, it took a few minutes to catch my breath and pick up the phone to call my husband home. I also called my mom and asked her to come over right away. I told them. We were all consumed by fear, and we knew nothing would be same again. That next day, Friday, September 29, I met with a breast surgeon to discuss my diagnosis, prognosis and strategy. All the information was so overwhelming; most of it was a blur. I learned that I caught the cancer early and ironically received praise for doing a self breast exam. My prognosis is very good I’m told, I would have a lumpectomy, a Port placed in my chest, chemo therapy and also radiation. I put all my faith in this surgeon, this beautiful person that has come into my world unexpectedly and with such compassion, it could bring you to tears. With the twins due in only a few days, we decided to tell our family and friends, so the weekend turned into an emotional roller coaster of phone calls and visitors.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006, was the happiest day of my life, my daughters were born. Jaydin weighed in at 7#4oz, and Adison weighed in at 7#8oz, big, healthy baby girls. For awhile, life was perfect again and the cancer took a back seat. After a few weeks of postpartum I underwent surgery to remove the lump, had the port placed inside my chest, and two sentinel nodes were removed from my right armpit. With the grace of God, the cancer did not spread to my lymph nodes, but the pathology report came back with bad news, they did not get all of the cancer and after a couple more weeks, I would again undergo surgery to clear the margins. The second surgery was a success and my margins were clear of the cancer. On Friday, December 1, I started my first dose dense chemo therapy treatment, every other Friday for 16 weeks. It was tough, the chemo was hitting me like a semi and I knew I would begin losing my hair. I was one to look at a bald woman and wonder why she had no hair, was it by choice or was it cancer. I was scared, I didn’t want anyone to look at me like that. So to make the transition easier, I hosted a wine (whine) and hair shave party. My closest girlfriends came over, the cutting began and the wine and champagne was poured. We laughed and talked for hours and I learned that I am beautiful to them regardless. Beauty took on a new meaning for me that night, it’s the inner deepest place in your soul, the innocence you are born with.

I have one chemo treatment left on March 16^th and then I will begin radiation, everyday for 7 weeks. It has been a tough road and the journey is not over yet, I have been truly blessed with a loving and supportive network of family, friends and strangers. I thank you all. To my husband and my daughters, I am a survivor because of you, I love you dearly.

Lisa Rothschild

DCIS 9/29/06

Stage 2 Grade 3, T2

ER-/PR-

HER2/neu-

RB lumpectomy 10/25/06, Port, 2 sentinel lymph nodes negative

Excisional Biopsy 11/8/06, Margins: clear

4 x A/C (completed)

4 x Taxol (completion, March 16, 2006)

Rad 7 weeks (to be completed)