Back to the beach — cancer free

At left, Julie on vacation in 2021 a few days after her breast cancer diagnosis. At right, Julie on vacation in 2022 after beating breast cancer.

The idea for “Letters From the Chemo Suite” was born while standing ankle deep in Lake Michigan last summer. 

Julie found out she had breast cancer just two days before we were to head on our family vacation last July. We considered canceling the trip, but her doctor quickly assured us that delaying treatment by a week wouldn’t make much difference. Plus, we knew having extended time around family was never more important.

By the time we packed, all we knew was she had an aggressive cancer that would likely require months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and possibly radiation. In other words, we carried a whole lot more baggage than usual on our annual trip north. 

Julie was clearly feeling the weight of it all. She didn’t say it then, but she shared recently that she was convinced it was her last trip to our little paradise. Her last family vacation. Her last beach fire. Her last time digging her toes in the sand next to her daughters.

Greta hugs her mom on the beach in 2021.

She and I found solace during a quick drive to Glen Haven while the girls and Logan stayed back in Frankfort for the afternoon. When we arrived, the beach was incredibly calm, and Julie fell in love with the clear water — perfect for rock hunting along the shore. The video on the homepage of this blog of Julie on the beach was actually shot that day in Glen Haven.

That was when I decided to blog about her journey. I knew we were in for a wild ride, and I was going to need an outlet — a way to maintain some control when it felt like everything might fly apart. The following is from a journal entry on the last day of our 2021 vacation:

“We needed this time as a family. We needed the beach memories and the sunset photos. I keep telling Julie we will be back here in a year and all of this will be in our rearview mirror. We know we are in for a long journey, but we’ll walk step by step together and do whatever it takes. I can’t believe how many people we know who have reached out since Julie shared the news on Facebook. At least 10 have shared their story of beating breast cancer. If they can do it, so can we.”

Back to the beach

Fast forward nearly a year to Summer vacation 2022. Julie, Greta, Georgia, Josie, Logan, Ukiah and I headed back to Frankfort, Michigan, for a week on the beach. Those who follow this blog already know we packed a whole lot lighter this year because Julie is now cancer free.

She endured months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and is still going through multiple breast reconstruction surgeries and immunotherapy treatments, but her prognosis is excellent.

Leading up to our 2022 return to Michigan, Julie really only had one “must-do” on her list. She and I had to return to Glen Haven Beach. Though she was cancer free physically, I’m pretty sure this was a step toward moving on from the trauma of cancer mentally and emotionally. There aren’t any scans or tests for beating cancer in your mind, and I suspect it may actually be a lifelong battle. But she needed to take this hallowed beach back. Reclaim her personal oasis.

And reclaim she did.

Over the last year, falling asleep had become a big hurdle, but she discovered a meditation that helped her put aside the anxieties of the day to drift off to sleep. The surf sounds and calming voice that played from her phone on her bedside table encouraged her to envision floating on a raft in the ocean. Julie told me she envisioned floating on a raft on Glen Haven Beach.

Julie relaxing on Glen Haven beach this year.

You can bet we stopped at a roadside sun store on our drive between Frankfort and Glen Haven to buy a raft so she could recreate a semblance of the peace she had found in her mind.

What a difference a year makes, and how sweet it was to toast to Julie’s good health in one of our favorite places on earth this summer.

This photo was taken after our celebration dinner at the Cabbage Shed restaurant along the Betsie Bay in Elberta, Michigan. It was our last night of vacation this year. We spent hours there, requesting music on vinyl, playing cornhole and enjoying time together.