You still step in puppy poop when you have cancer

By John Bach

Our mini goldendoodle Frankie

We are quickly finding out that life isn’t all that fond of waiting around, even when you have breast cancer.

Allow me to give a few examples just from this week — the first of which I may have hinted at in the headline of this post.

Frankie, our 3-month old goldendoodle, decided our screened porch was the ideal place to relieve herself just minutes before we were to head down to the city for Julie’s second chemo treatment. To make things more interesting, Julie stepped in it while watering her plants, thus tracking it everywhere before realizing the special surprise.

For what it’s worth, this was the moment her two gold-themed birthday gifts — the new puppy and the fancy gold-colored Birkenstock sandals — came together, quite literally.

Also, your dryer still dies when you have cancer. The grass still needs cut, work doesn’t take a break and your kids still get sick with a virus that mimics COVID-19 symptoms. Thankfully their tests came back negative, but in a particularly “pleasant” twist, both Josie and Greta found out they were exposed to the virus at school and work. So they still must quarantine out of caution, because breast cancer doesn’t take a break during a pandemic either.

All of this reminds me of the advice we received during one of our first sessions with Dr. Elyse Lower, director of the UC Cancer Center Breast Cancer Center. As devastating as the news first feels, life goes on even during treatment. New meds, tailored treatments and advances in modern chemo methods help. Julie even leaves chemo sessions with an on-body injector unit strapped to her arm that disperses a growth hormone about a day later. It is truly on-the-go treatment. I mean really, who has time for cancer?

Dr. Lower wasn’t kidding. Life continues. It must —  the bad stuff and the good.

In the midst of our crazy and stressful week, we also met Greta at the bridal shop to try on her wedding dress because planning also hasn’t stopped for next September’s wedding. Clearly, I can’t share photos of her in her dress, but seeing your firstborn looking at herself in the mirror wearing her elegant wedding dress takes me immediately back to watching her as a child pretending to be in this very moment.

Greta, Julie and I at Blush Bridal

None of us foresaw breast cancer coming along for the ride, but seeing the look in Julie’s eyes while watching Greta in her gown, well, let’s just say the good still outweighs the bad, even during the tough weeks.