Kelley Skoloda - A Way Back to Health: 12 Lessons from a Cancer Survivor

Copyright 2021, Kelley Murray Skoloda

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Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Print ISBN: 978-1-64742-217-2

E-ISBN: 978-1-64742-218-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021912126

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To David, the wind beneath my wings.
To Jake, Ellie, Mom, Colby, and the other
angels who helped me through many unexpected
lessons on my journey with cancer.

by Lisa Lurie, survivor, author, and cofounder of Cancer Be Glammed

A cancer diagnosis doesnt come with a how-to manual or a blueprint on how to cope with this instantly life-changing illness. What it does offer is the opportunity to learn and benefit from people who have tread a similar path before you.

As I read the manuscript of this book, I often found myself saying out loud, Thats right, or, I wish I had thought of that! I could easily relate to Kelleys experiences and appreciate her lessons learned even though my surgery and treatment were for breast cancer.

At the heart of this book is a truth that sounds simple. It is Be your own advocate. Do what feels right for you. Caught up in the fear of the unknown and the often-rapid march from diagnosis into surgery or treatment, it is easy to lose sight of your own inner strength and voice. This was true for me.

Like Kelley, I rediscovered my power when I started to take better control of the things that I could. I became active in managing my care, I took advantage of the days that I felt better after chemotherapy to reconnect with family and friends, and I learned how to listen to my body and focus on what was important to help me heal.

When I finished treatment, I became determined to empower other women to have a better-prepared, well-informed, take-charge recovery. Women coping with all forms of cancer. I cofounded my company Cancer Be Glammed to educate and enable them to reclaim their lifestyles and to recover with dignity, positive self-esteem, and personal style.

For the past ten years I have been immersed in the cancer worlda world that is ever-changing. The one constant throughout has been the amazing resilience, heart, and generosity of the doctors, nurses, caregivers, survivors, and their families that share their hard-won wisdom to support other people traveling this difficult road.

I have never felt like cancer is a gift, but I have come to believe that the people it brings into your life are.

Lisa Lurie
survivor, author, and cofounder

Cancer Be Glammed
www.CancerBeGlammed.com

I was the healthiest person I knew until I became a cancer patient. As a child, my grandmother and mother prepared meals at home. We rarely ate out, in part because of expense, but mostly because my family liked to cook in the Italian tradition of food equating to love. The food was delicious and nutritioushandmade pastas and soupsmade from fresh ingredients from my Paps garden. I have continued many of these traditions throughout my adult life: buying fresh, local produce for my family, cooking most meals at home, avoiding fast food, taking nutritional supplements, and eating as healthy as possible.

My dad was an athlete in his younger yearsfast enough to go to state competitions in track. I followed in his athletic footsteps, starting my athletic career as an eight-year-old gymnast. Gymnastics and then track filled my elementary and high school years, and I earned eight letters for sports. By the time I went to college, running, lifting weights, and coaching gymnastics were routine parts of my life. As an adult, aerobics, weightlifting, skiing, golfing, yoga, meditation, and a generally active life were my norms. Even while working in an office setting for several decades, I always belonged to a gym and attended classes regularly. For Gods sake, my triceps werent even super jiggly!

Doctors visits were rare occurrences, except for an occasional flu, yearly checkups, and pregnancy-related checkups. Even when I was pregnant, my health remained fully intact. While three months pregnant with my son, our first child, I climbed the Great Wall of China. The day before my son was born, I worked out on our at-home stair climber hours before going into the hospital to give birth. I gained twenty-five pounds with my first pregnancy and thirty with my second and lost all the baby weight within six months of delivery.

Thats why when I went in for my first routine colonoscopy, I was anxious (who isnt when someone is about to stick a camera up your butt?) but not expecting anything out of the ordinary. No symptoms, no sickness, a lifelong healthy lifestyle. What could possibly go wrong?

I was the healthiest person I knew until the day of my colonoscopy.

I had no idea colorectal cancer was incredibly common. When I asked my doctor how, given my lifestyle, eating, and exercise routines, I could have colon cancer, he said that my only risk factor was how common colon cancer now is.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, the third most common among men, and the second most common among women. Who knew? There were over 1.8 million new cases in 2018. And the problem is getting worse. The global burden of colorectal cancer is expected to increase by 60 percent to more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030. Unfortunately, chances are pretty good that you or someone you love will encounter colorectal cancer.