I am not even sure where to begin...this past weekend was one of the most incredible, emotional and inspirational experiences of my life. I have spent the last couple of days pondering how to write about the Susan G. Komen 3 Day For The Cure, and I have finally realized that there is just no possible way to put into words everything that this weekend entailed and how much it impacted me. As much as I may try, I could never accurately describe the emotions I felt during this weekend, and during the Opening Ceremony in particular- surrounded by my 9 friends of Team Meghan Malley Rally, Mom & Doug, Mike and Kyle - watching those left behind carry flags for their wives, mothers, daughters and friends that they lost - witnessing the incredibly strong & fierce survivors raise their joined hands in an act of victory and celebration - and starting the 60 mile journey together after a tearful team huddle. To be honest, the Opening Ceremony was more difficult and more emotional than I expected it to be - definitely the hardest part of the weekend to get through. It was extremely tough for me to stand in the midst of hundreds of women and men walking in memory of a loved one and wondering if one day my friends would be walking in my memory, rather than in my honor as a survivor. Although the start of this amazing weekend was quite overwhelming, it was also filled with encouragement, optimism and hope. 9 friends, 3 days, 60 miles, 1 goal...to find a cure for breast cancer! A group of incredible survivors surrounding the memorial flag honoring all of those that have lost their fight The most adorable member of Team Meghan Malley Rally - hands down! :) The girls were flexing those muscles to show off their new pink ribbon "tatoos" during Friday's lunch break The girls kicked Day 1's booty! After starting the walk together, Mike, Andy, Andrew and I then met the team for lunch and cheered them on as they started the second half of the day. They completed the day in great spirits, full of energy and inspiration. Brin stayed with us at night to take care of Andrew instead of camping, so it was wonderful to hear her stories from the first day - all of the fabulous people they met, the community of cheerleaders they encountered, and the walkers that asked to hear the story of who she was walking for. On Saturday, we headed out to Plymouth to host a cheering station at the Plymouth Cultural Center. We cheered on the amazing 3 Day walkers from 10:30 to 2:30pm and were joined by so many of our family and friends! It was so incredible to have all of you join us on Saturday, and I can't tell you enough how much that meant to me - to not only have you support me, but support all of the women and men that are fighting for a cure! Team Meghan Malley Rally looking as strong as ever during Saturday's lunch break! Many members of my old RIM gang...so thankful to have worked with such amazing people and that I am able to call all of them my friends My beautiful & incredibly supportive sorority sisters - love you girls! My biggest cheerleader! ♥ Taking part in that cheering station was truly an unforgettable experience. You would never believe how many people saw our t-shirts and said, "Oh I know Meghan, her team told me all about her!", or "How is Meghan doing?", "I am praying for Meghan". When people saw that I was standing right there, they proceeded to give me huge hugs, ask how I was doing, tell me to keep fighting, and let me know I am forever in their prayers. It was amazing to hear complete strangers tell me they read my blog or that they have heard about me from someone else they know. They knew all about me, my story, my diagnosis, my treatment schedule...it was amazing. I felt like I had a million people wrapping their arms around me in love and prayer and it was a feeling I will hold onto for the rest of my life. It was a truly special day! My fierce walker warriors were still going strong after 40 miles but they were definitely starting to have some aches, pains, and a few blisters pop up by the end of Saturday's walk. But they didn't complain. They continued to share with me the love and support offered by other participants of the 3 Day, the other survivors they met, and the overwhelming emotions they all felt throughout the day along their journey. The start of the last leg of their journey was accompanied by some light rain but that never even dampened their spirits. I met them for lunch on Sunday with the hopes to boost their spirits and give them some inspiration for the final few miles. I expected to find my friends exhausted and possibly in pain, definitely in need of a pep talk. They didn't even come close to needing it - they were filled with excitement, pride, and joy and ready to tackle those last few miles! I was totally amazed and couldn't wait to meet them at the finish line. We arrived at the Ford Motor Company World Headquarters on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the completion of this amazing 3 day, 60 mile journey. Team Meghan Malley Rally were total rockstars and finished this incredible feat in one piece, only a few blisters here and there, and wearing smiles from ear to ear! I couldn't have been more proud to have my name displayed across their shirts. I was also so touched to see more family and friends come down to the Closing Ceremony to be there with us. Everything always seems so much better when you are surrounded by so many family and friends and I can't say thank you enough for that! The Closing Ceremony was also an emotional one but I was very happy to also feel like it was celebratory and inspirational. I was so proud of my girls for taking part in this and Mike and I were totally inspired to participate in the 3 Day in one way or another from here on out! After the beautiful Closing Ceremony, we all headed over to Mom & Doug's house where we were joined by many, many more family and friends! It was so wonderful to walk out the back door and see the deck and yard filled with all of our loved ones. It was a perfect way to end this amazing weekend! A group of great friends and some of my favorite ladies! My sweet little buddy, Andrew. I had the best week snuggling this adorable guy...and how great is his bib that his momma, Brinley made! I love it! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you that in one way or another contributed to this incredible cause and unforgettable weekend! Thank you for your donations, your cheerleading, your hugs, your well wishes, your time.....the list goes on and on. I hope that I have thanked each of you personally when I have seen you, but if I haven't, please know how grateful I am for your support and the support you have shown Mike, Mom, Doug, Jeff and the rest of my family.
I can never thank the amazing Meghan Malley Rally 3 Day team enough for everything they did for me this summer...Brinley, Kara, Becca, Lindsay, Nancy, Stacy, Melanie, Amanda and Nikki. Your incredible efforts raised over $30,000 to find a cure for breast cancer!!! Through all the fundraising events and the actual 3 Day weekend, you guys have made me feel so loved and appreciated all at the same time making me smile, laugh and forget about this terrible disease for awhile. For that, I am grateful! You were total warriors during this event and I can't wait to walk 60 miles with you in the future! An extra special thank you to those wonderful family and friends that traveled this past weekend to be here to support us. Brinley, Andy and Andrew came all the way from Jensen Beach, Florida - Melanie and Ben from Cleveland - Amanda, Nick, Liz, Nancy, Chelsea, Beth, Ben, Joe and Lauren from Chicago - Aunt Clare, Beth and Brigetta from North Carolina - Jenny from Grand Rapids. I hope I am not forgetting anyone. The fact that you guys took time out of your busy lives to physically be here to give us hugs and show your support, seriously meant so much to Mike and I! We are so incredibly blessed to have all of you as our family and friends. Another special thank you to my mom's incredible friends, Barb and Roni for working their tails off in the kitchen all night on Sunday so that my mom could enjoy herself at the party and not stress about all the behind the scenes stuff. Your support of my mom means more to me than you will ever know - thank you so very much! Lastly, thank you to my AMAZING momma, Jan and my stepdad, Doug for all of their love, support and hard work this past weekend. For spending all weekend supporting the 3 Day team and other walkers, and for opening up their home to host TONS of our friends and family on Sunday. You guys are the best and we would be lost without you. The Susan G. Komen 3 Day For The Cure slogan couldn't touch any closer to home for me..."Everyone deserves a lifetime". I believe I not only deserve a lifetime but I have promised myself and Mike that I will go to the ends of the Earth to make sure I achieve that. I am so thankful for this incredible event which has provided me an extra dose of inspiration, motivation, and encouragement. Thank you so much to all of you for giving me hope! As my beautiful Godmother, Aunt Carol shared with me, "If you have faith, you have hope and if you have hope, you have everything!" ♥ Well, there are so many other things that have happened over the past week or so that I want to share...updates from my oncologist, meeting with my plastic surgeon, upcoming tests, meeting other young women with breast cancer, the Johnson's week long visit, and so much more! Check back frequently over the next couple of weeks because we have a lot going on that I want to keep everyone up to date about. I am off to get some more rest - haven't quite caught up from all the busy festivities over the past week! Have a great weekend everyone. xoxo, Meg ps. SAVE THE DATE: My fabulous friend, Patty has been planning an incredible benefit concert for us which will take place on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 at The Berkley Front in downtown Berkley from 4-10pm. The event will showcase some amazing local bands, there will be a silent auction and all sorts of other great things. Many more details to come but mark your calendars now! Please contact Patty Labella at 248-752-3104 or [email protected] if you have any items or services to donate for the silent auction or would like to help out in any other way. Check back to the blog soon for more updates!
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It was hot and humid without any sort of breeze to give relief. The route weaved in and out of towns, and up and down steep hills throughout the greater Ann Arbor area for 30 miles. She rode completely by herself, for nearly 2 1/2 hours, after spending weeks raising over $2,000...because that's the kind of friend she is. Kyle is the kind of friend that would do anything she could to help you, to be there for you, to show you that she cares. She has been there for me in every way possible throughout this journey - from a simple call or text to say she was thinking of me, to spending hours creating the most thoughtful and meaningful gifts, to photographing such intimate and emotional moments like when I shaved my hair. And then she goes and does this...the 2nd Annual Susan G. Komen Ride For The Cure. It was a great event with a wonderful turn out of supporters in which $250,000 was raised to stay within the mid-Michigan chapter of the Susan G. Komen organization. We met a lot of wonderful people, including many survivors that were eager to share their success stories with me and offer hope and encouragement. I was interviewed on camera for a Komen promotional video, and it turned out to be a much more emotional experience for me than I ever imagined it would be. As my voice cracked and I got choked up while speaking, Kyle hugged me a little tighter and helped me get through it. She is just that type of person - the kind that will stand beside you, hold your hand, and help you get through anything, without looking for any recognition or attention for herself. Kyle did an amazing job and blazed through those 30 miles. Check out some of the images I captured from Saturday's event... Photo credit: Kyle Dorcey Kyle, I couldn't be more proud of you and grateful to have you as one of my very best friends. You completely touched me heart by doing this in my honor and I was so excited to be there to cheer you on! Thank you for your constant love and support - it means the world to me! I would also like to give a huge thank you to all of you that came out to our last 3 Day fundraiser on Friday night. We had a blast doing a Zumba workout and a relaxing yoga cool down. Thank you so much to my mom's co-worker Lori for giving us this great idea, and to her sister Maggie who taught a super fun and energetic class! Maggie, thank you so much for donating your time for our fundraiser - I had such a fun time. It felt so great to feel a little bit more like myself again and to workout with everyone - although I will admit that I have paid for it a bit since with fatigue and some soreness....but it was well worth it! Thanks to everyone that came and spent their Friday night with us for such a good cause. Sorry we missed some of you in our group shot. Well, I can't believe it but the Susan G. Komen 3 Day For A Cure is now upon us. I am so excited to have so many friends and family gather together this weekend to support me, support the Meghan Malley Rally team, and support this cause. It will mean so much to me to see so many of you there throughout the weekend. I truly cannot thank all of you enough for everything you have done to help make Team Meghan Malley Rally such a success - whether you have helped organize a fundraiser, donated your time or talents, come out to show your support, or donated online....it is all so very much appreciated! The 3 Day walk is more than a philanthropic event for me. It has given me something to look forward to, something to focus my energy on, and even more importantly, it has given me HOPE! I am so grateful to Brinley, Kara, Melanie, Amanda, Lindsay, Becca, Nancy, Stacy and Nikki for dedicating so much of your time and energy to this...as I have told you before, you will never truly know the depths of my gratitude. I hope to see many of you this weekend, especially at my mom's house on Sunday night. Please come by because I would love to give each of you that follow this blog and hold me in your prayers, a huge hug and heartfelt thanks in person. I truly don't know how I could do this without all of your love and support. Let the walking begin! xoxo, Meg I distinctly remember the moment when I realized that my group of girlfriends and I were unique. It was back at Miami University during my undergrad years and it dawned on me what a special bond I had with my best girlfriends from home. During my freshman year of college, I had pictures of my Beauts plastered all over my tiny dorm room walls. I remember so many people making comments to me like, "you still talk to your friends from high school?", or "I couldn't wait to get out of my hometown and get away from people I went to high school with!" Throughout my college years, I discovered that many of my Miami friends kept in less and less touch with their friends from home, while my friendship with my Beauts remained as strong as ever. Sure, maybe I didn't get the chance to see all of them as much, but it didn't matter - because we could go months without a visit and then once we saw each other, we could pick right back up where we left off. It has been 11 years since we graduated high school and I am so proud to say that my Beauts are still some of my very best friends. We have been there for each other through thick and thin and I am so grateful to have them in my life! Seven of us, plus one baby Beaut, were able to get together for a girls weekend getaway up to Nanc & Bob's place on beautiful Sage Lake. It was a perfect relaxing weekend with my girls - filled with sunshine, swimming, laughter, and lots and lots of food! I love you guys so much and I am so blessed by the amazing friendships I share with each of you. Jen, Kel & Chels - we missed you lots and I plan on photoshopping you into the pics! ;) Nanc & Bob - thank you so much for letting us invade the cottage for the weekend! We had a fabulous time and your lake definitely "sparkled" for us! Trying to get a little color on that bald head of mine :) Gorgeous sunset over Sage Lake After arriving back home Sunday, my mom picked me up about 10 minutes later in order to head out to Aretee' Day Spa for the fundraiser that Diana organized. What an incredible job Diana did putting this together! My mom and I were treated to mini mani's and pedi's and massages - it was wonderful. I am sorry that I missed seeing most of you there earlier in the day, but thank you to everyone that came out to support us. A huge thank you to Diana, the Aretee' Day Spa, and all of the therapists and technicians that donated their time and amazing services! I am so excited to head out to Ann Arbor on Saturday to cheer on my amazing friend Kyle as she bikes 30 miles for the Susan G. Komen Ride For A Cure. Kyle has been one of the most supportive and thoughtful friends throughout this entire journey, and cheering her on is the least I can do to say thank you. I am so proud of you, Kiki and I know you will do great! For anyone that wants to come support Kyle, please click here for more information, including a map of the route. The 30 mile ride starts at 11am at Forsythe Middle School located at 1655 Newport Rd, Ann Arbor, 48103. Our last fundraiser for the 3 Day walk is this Friday at Royal Oak High School. Come join us at 7pm to workout, have fun, and raise some money so we can reach our $30,000 goal! We are almost there! All fitness levels welcome and if you are worried about making it through the entire workout - just come hang out with me on the sidelines! I can't believe that the 3 Day is already next week! I am so excited for it but I will admit that I am a little nervous at the same time because I know it will be a very emotional weekend for me. I am so grateful to my wonderful friends that have decided to participate in this event and to all of you that want to come out that weekend to not only support them, but support me as well. I have put together a schedule of events for the weekend and would love to get the chance to cheer on the walkers with as many family and friends as possible. I apologize in advance if the small print is difficult to read - I had to fit it on one page. Feel free to email me if you would like me to send you this info in a word document. Lots and lots of fun happenings coming up in the next couple of weeks - not to mention the fact that Brinley, Andy and baby Andrew get here next Wednesday! Then my wonderful college friends and sorority sisters, Melanie, Amanda and Liz will all be here for the 3 Day as well. I can't wait to see everyone soon!
xoxo, Meghan It is so easy to be scared - actually, to feel terrified by my diagnosis. Although I avoid statistics as much as I possibly can, I have read them. I know what the typical prognosis is for someone with my type and stage of cancer. To say it's "not good" would be a huge understatement. I know what I am up against and I am fully aware that I need to do all I can to be in that small group - that tiny percentage - of women that make it - and make it for a long time! However, I am no stranger to fitting into these unlikely groups. I am now part of the 10% of women that are diagnosed with breast cancer to have the Invasive Lobular form, the 6% of women that are diagnosed as stage IV right from the start, and the mere 5% of women that are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40. If I can be part of these rare groups, who is to say I can't be part of the small percentage of young women with stage IV cancer that go into remission and lead a long, healthy, happy life! This is my ultimate goal and driving force behind everything I do! Lately, when I become scared, I have started to read the most current research in the area of metastatic breast cancer (aka stage IV). Sadly, this is an area that has been very underserved regarding research and clinical trials. In the past, the common medical opinion regarding treatment of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer was to begin palliative care and tell them to enjoy their life while they can - for the next year or so- and that was it. No aggressive treatment, no clinical trials, no cure = no hope. Thankfully, the approach and mindset of the oncology community in regards to metastatic breast cancer is finally evolving. More conversations have been initiated, more treatment is being attempted, and slowly but surely, more research is being conducted. The statistics regarding survival rates of those of us with "incurable", metastatic breast cancer are improving 1-2% each year - I know this doesn't sound like much, but it's a statistic that's moving in the right direction and I will take it! Oncologists aren't just shipping us off to hospice at diagnosis - we are being treated aggressively with the goal of remission. Even if we don't technically have a "cure" for metastatic breast cancer, there are many amazing stories out there of women (and men) living many years with this as a chronic illness - similar to managing other chronic illnesses such as diabetes. In addition to research for metastatic breast cancer, Susan G. Komen For a Cure is also invested in research regarding better diagnostic tools to allow for early detection of breast cancer. This is also an area close to my heart because Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer in particular is very difficult to pick up on imaging tests. It is often missed on mammograms and goes undiagnosed until it has become very advanced. It is so imperative that we find a way to diagnose this earlier and avoid the onset of metastases. And finally, research regarding young women diagnosed with breast cancer is another area which is often overlooked. I have already met way too many women under the ago of 40 diagnosed with breast cancer - there are too many of us! Yet, so much of the focus and research is geared towards older women. Young women like me are often overlooked, blown off, and misdiagnosed because we don't fit the typical profile of a woman at risk. Unfortunately, survival rates of young women with breast cancer haven't improved that much over the years - and this needs to be changed! We need more research in regards to genetic mutations, early detection and treatment of young women. My doctors are confident I have a genetic mutation that has caused this, but despite numerous genetic tests I have had so far, we cannot determine the mutation responsible. Although great strides have been made, we have a long way to go in order to get control of this devastating disease. This is why fundraising is so important to me. I am confident that we are on the brink of great discoveries, particularly regarding managing and possibly curing metastatic breast cancer. With each dollar we raise for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure, we are funding research that will help prevent, treat, and cure this awful disease. It is your generous donations that will allow this work to be continued for many years - and your amazing contributions that give me hope that a cure for metastatic breast cancer will eventually be found. I just need to fight hard enough to stick around to see that day. If you would like to read more about the research efforts being made through your donations to Susan G. Komen For a Cure, please click here. I also wanted to share two areas of research reported on Komen's website that I am especially pleased about: Research Highlight: EARLY DETECTION We have provided more than $50M to support research to identify new screening tools, enhance the efficacy of existing screening tests such as mammography, and to improve screening delivery to find breast cancer early when it is most treatable. Impacts: Komen research explored the characteristics of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) as a screening tool and today MRI in addition to mammography is recommended for women at high risk for breast cancer – those with a family history or gene mutation. These women are at greater risk of developing breast cancer before age 40 and are more likely to have dense breasts, which can reduce the sensitivity of mammography. Komen research also led to development of new technologies like molecular breast imaging (MBI) which can detect three times as many cancers as film mammography among women with dense breasts. Exciting research: Our research continues to address important new challenges, such as:
We have provided nearly than $28M since 2006 to support research seeking to understand the processes by which tumor cells migrate to other parts of the body and to identify therapeutic targets for stopping this process. Impacts: Komen research supported early work by Judah Folkman, Nancy Davidson and others to understand angiogenesis, a process critical in metastasis by which tumors stimulate a blood supply for their continued growth. The first anti-angiogenic drug, Avastin, was approved for use by the FDA in 2004. Komen research also recently led to the discovery of a gene, metadherin, that promotes metastasis in 30 to 40 percent of breast tumors, providing an exciting potential target for therapy. Exciting research: Our research continues to advance our understanding of the types and sources of signals tumor cells receive that trigger cell migration, and how the area around cells, called the extracellular matrix (EMC), changes to allow cells to start migrating. Examples of important new challenges in metastasis being addressed through our research include:
My incredible friends that have devoted their summer to fundraising and training for the 60 mile, 3 Day walk have two additional events planned to raise as much money as possible - our goal is to hit the $30,000 mark! This Sunday is the spa day at Aretee Day Spa in Grosse Pointe Woods from 3-9pm. Don't worry if you haven't RSVP'd, please just come by and get pampered for a great cause! You are welcome to come by at any time - no need for an appointment. A week from Friday, please head over to Royal Oak High School to join us for a fun night of Zumba and yoga as we participate in our last fundraiser for the 3 Day For A Cure walk! We would love to see you there to help us reach our goal! If you are unable to make it to one of these events, but would still like to make a donation to the Meghan Malley Rally team, please click here. Another great event that I would like to share with you is the Susan G. Komen Ride For A Cure. My amazing friend Kyle is participating in this event on Saturday, August 6. She will be riding her bike for 30 miles throughout the Ann Arbor area in order to raise money for the Susan G. Komen organization. For more general information on this event, including the course map, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution to Kyle's fundraising efforts, please click here. Kyle, I am so proud of you and so grateful that you are doing this. I can't wait to come cheer you on! I can't thank you all enough for your donations and support of all of our fundraising efforts. I promise that once I am able to get my own health stabilized, I will focus a great deal of my time and attention to spreading the word regarding early detection for high risk young women, and to further promote research towards metastatic disease!
I am looking forward to these next two fundraising efforts and I'm especially excited for the 3 Day event which starts on August 12! It will be incredible. More details soon to come on all the festivities of that weekend. Have a fabulous weekend guys - I know I will! Can't beat spending time up north with some of my very best friends from high school. My girlfriends are seriously sunshine for my soul! We'll miss you Chels, Jen & Kel. ♥ xoxo, Meg One of the many new things I have noticed since not being at work is that I often have no clue what the date is. I now completely relate to my retired geriatric patients that always need help with the date while filling out their paperwork at the clinic. When you no longer write the date out each day while filling out documentation at work, it's easy to lose track. All of a sudden it has totally hit me that we are over half way through July! Where is the summer going?! I know I say it year after year...but man, it seems like time flies quicker and quicker the older I get. I consider "time" to be one of my best friends these days and I definitely want as much of it as I can possibly get! Although I would never wish it to fly by, there are certain circumstances that make me grateful that the passage of time is moving along fairly quick. This past week marked the half way point of my chemotherapy treatments. Hallelujah! I now have 8 treatments behind me, and 8 more to go. Although I have voiced my frustrations about the intense fatigue chemo brings, I have never complained about going through these past 8 rounds- partially because I will go through anything that will help me beat this, and also because I know that things could always be worse. The first round of chemo was pretty rough for me, but I now look at that as a blessing in disguise. Feeling as awful as I did then, has allowed me to feel grateful for the mercy that has been shown to me during the seven rounds since. I have discovered that there is always something we can be thankful for in every circumstance, if we make the choice to see it. Although I am thankful for getting through this time as well as I have, I am not gonna lie - I am ready to make it to the chemo finish line! I am truly looking forward to tackling these next 8 rounds and giving my body a bit of a break that it definitely deserves. This week was a busy one and filled with lots of time with friends - which is always a good thing. :) I am gradually getting better at slowing down, fitting in time to rest, and learning my new limitations - but when I am feeling pretty good, I like to take advantage of it! Last Monday, I drove for the first time in a long while and headed out to Ann Arbor to spend some time with one of my best friends, Julie & her sweet son Will. What's better than spending the day shopping, eating lunch at Zingerman's and playing with this adorable guy?! The rest of the week was wonderfully busy and consisted of visits from Denise & her girls, Nikki, Aunt Bev and Uncle Herm. As well as dinner with Andrea, Julie C and Nichole, catching a movie with Andrea, hitting up the Royal Oak Antique & Garage Sale with Julie, dinner with Katie & Justin, and topping the weekend off by going to the Tiger's game with some of my best friends from PT school! Whew, busy bee! I have also been working on plans for the weekend of the incredible 3 Day For A Cure walk. I am so excited and can't believe it's only 4 weeks away! I will post lots of details soon, but mark your calendars in advance for the weekend of August 12-14...if you are in town, it would be amazing to have as many of our friends and family there as possible to help us cheer on the walkers and celebrate this incredible cause. There will be opportunities to come out and join us each day of the weekend, and will culminate with a big party on Sunday night to celebrate and to allow us to show our thanks and appreciation to each and every one of you that has supported us along the way. I know it will be a very emotional and memorable weekend! There are two great fundraisers remaining for the 3 Day team, and you don't want to miss them! Please see the flyer below for full details on the amazing spa day that Diana has put together. How can you pass up an excuse to get pampered while raising money for such a fabulous cause?! Check out the flyer to see all of the great services your donation will get you. Please do not forget to RSVP to Diana as soon as possible! Our last fundraiser will be a super fun Zumba & Yoga class on Friday, August 5 at Royal Oak High School. It sounds like a great time! And don't worry...I can't handle a 90 minute workout anymore - so if you don't think you are up for it but want to come support us, you can hang out with me as I watch everyone else sweat. :) As always, thank you for the continued prayers and support. Each week, without fail, something happens that amazes us due to the kindness and generosity of our friends, family, and even complete strangers. So many people have reached out to us, and there is no way we can ever truly thank you all enough for it. We just hope you know how much it means to us to hear from you and know you care. xoxo, Meghan I spent some time photographing my mom's beautiful garden this week. I have memories from as far back as I can remember of my mom spending hours upon hours in her flower beds all summer long, just like she still does today. My love and appreciation of flowers and gardening clearly comes from her and the gorgeous gardens she creates. Hello there friends! Before jumping into this week's happenings, I want to send out a huge thank you for an event that took place last week.... Mike's friend Steve S, a fellow teacher at Kettering, is the advisor for Kettering's Robotics Team. The team is competing in three tournaments this summer, in which their robots have to complete a number of timed tasks while competing against other schools. The Kettering team blew us away when they told us that they were dedicating their summer tournaments to us! This not only included turning their green Kettering Captain logo to pink, but they designed awesome shirts with "Let’s Beat This Thing / Driving Robots for Meghan Malley" on the back. How cool is that?! The Kettering Robotics Team (aka Team 3098) also teamed up with the Team 1528 – Monroe Trojan Robotics, who hosted the Michigan Area Robotics Competition (MARC), last Friday, June 24th, and they all decided to make the ENTIRE event a benefit for Mike and I! We were so honored and touched! The teams raised money through t-shirt sales, silent auction, and "Robots for a Cure" bracelets! There was also a "Survivor/Honor Night" on Friday where the tournament honored all those that have battled any type of cancer. We were incredibly disappointed that we couldn't attend after receiving instructions to avoid public places after finding out that my counts were so low last week. Steve, Kettering Captains Robotics Team, and all participants of MARC...we cannot thank you enough for honoring us in this way. We are so deeply humbled and overwhelmed by your generosity and thoughtfulness!!! Thank you a million times over! ps. Congrats Kettering Captains on placing 4th out of 48 teams!!! Thank you so much to Steve's wife, Angie for taking these pictures so we could feel like we were there last Friday! It was because of amazing events like this that I was so disappointed about my "house arrest" since last Thursday! I am beyond ecstatic to report that I am now free as a bird!!! Yippee!!! Yahoo!!! My counts made a HUGE leap this week and Mike & I almost did a jumping high five in chemo this morning upon hearing my blood work report. It's so warped that we get so excited about being able to get chemo, right?! My white blood cells shot up from 1,800 to 5,800, my hemoglobin rose from 9.0 to 10.3, and my neutrophils soared to 3,900 from a sad 300 last week! What a difference a week of complete and utter rest can do! We were actually pretty nervous while driving to Chemo-land this morning because I have actually been pretty sick this week while attempting to fight off a wicked head cold. This annoying cold creeped in on Saturday after I ventured outside for a bit to walk to the pup around the block. Since Saturday, the cold has brought something new and exciting each and every day....complete head congestion, runny nose like a faucet, constant sneezing, and the finale...a hacking cough to the point of dry heaving. Oh, the joy of a summer cold mixed with no white blood cells to fight the pesky thing off! Thankfully, I felt a bit better this morning and the incessant cough stopped in time to arrive at chemo. Mike and I were worried if they heard that cough, we wouldn't make it too far past the front door! Just goes to show that you never know what is going to happen - felt good last week and had lousy counts, felt crappy this week and counts were much better than expected. Who knows?! Bottom line is...the value of rest and prayer cannot be underestimated! Thank you to my hubby in particular for scolding me every time I tried to push my limits, and thank you to all of you for your continued prayers for me to get back on track with treatment! Now that my counts are up, I am no longer on "lock down" at home and I couldn't be happier! I can now go join the land of the living and most importantly, spend 4th of July weekend with family and friends! I have promised nurse Jan, aka Momma, that I will continue to be extremely cautious of germs, and not push my luck now that I have the green light to go back out in public. Speaking of going out, I am very excited to let you all know about two more fundraising events for the 3 Day For a Cure event this August! I believe there are only three more events left before the race, so get in on the action while you can. I must admit, we are a pretty fun group to fundraise with:) Check out the flyers below for details - hope you can make it! I always look forward to seeing friends & family at these awesome fundraisers! The "Meghan Malley Rally" 3 Day Team continues to do an AMAZING job raising money for breast cancer research and Susan G. Komen For the Cure. They have actually reached their team goal today of over $20,000!!! However, the fundraising continues in order to assure that each individual participant is able to reach the $2,300 needed to participate in the event. Kara has a great ladies night planned at her house on July 8th. Tons of great vendors will be there with great merchandise, such as jewelry, purses, food products and more! The best part is they have all generously agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds to the 3 Day team! Can't wait to check it all out & see you guys there! Another fabulous friend of mine, Diana M. has put together this amazing spa day at the end of July. It sounds incredible so get out your calendars and mark it down now! Check out the flyer below for all the great details on how your donation can treat you to a relaxing day at the spa! IMPORTANT: Please make sure to RSVP to the event at the number listed below, so Diana knows how many massage therapists and nail techs she will need. Come enjoy an afternoon of relaxation benefiting the fabulous 3 Day For A Cure team! Thank you Diana! ♥ Thank you again for all of your prayers for elevated blood counts this week! They clearly worked and I am so grateful. I guess the ole' body just needed a break last week, huh? Normally, we usually go out of town every 4th of July with a great group of some of our best friends. We have made a collective decision to keep the celebration local this year and keep it a little more low-key, and I must say I am pretty excited about not hitting the road again. In addition to that, I am THRILLED that Mike and I will be able to head to my Aunt Ree's house on Saturday to see many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins - especially Becca, Jon, Nate and Teagan from Denver! YAY! I can't wait to see you guys! Each night, I always take a minute to think about what I am grateful for. Lately, I am so grateful for all of you, your prayers, and support. I am also grateful for the opportunity to spend Independence Day Weekend with our family and friends - enjoying sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires! Life is good! Happy 4th of July! xoxo, Meghan This guy has been keeping me great company this past week. Have you ever seen a cuter furry face?! I mean, come on - he is undeniably the most adorable pup on the plant. (I guess I may be slightly biased) ;) Hustled outside after my post-chemo nap to snap a few shots of the garden before I lost the sunlight. Spending time alone in my flower beds is something I find so therapeutic and relaxing - can't wait to feel well enough to do it again soon! Howdy y'all! Haha, just kidding. We had a great time in Nashville, but I didn't pick up the official southern twang that fast. Prior to leaving for Nashville, we had quite an eventful week... Unfortunately, the morning after my last blog post, we found out that we lost Mike's Aunt Margaret after her long and brave battle with cancer. Yet another huge loss to this awful disease. This news obviously saddened us so much, especially after losing Mike's uncle just last week. Although this was heart breaking news, we are so thankful that Aunt Margaret is no longer suffering and can now rest in peace and be reunited with Mike's mom and her other loved ones in Heaven. We will miss you very much, Aunt Margaret. Our families have been through so much this year - here's hoping that the rest of 2011 shows us some mercy. On Tuesday night we enjoyed some good food, beautiful weather, and great company at Rosie O'Grady's for the fundraiser Stacy organized for the "Meghan Malley Rally" 3 Day For A Cure team. It was a wonderful night and over 60 people came out to support our cause, which ended up raising $800! I am continuously amazed at the generosity of our families and friends! You guys are incredible and you make raising money for this cause so easy and so much fun at the same time! Thank you for your unwavering support! Wednesday afternoon Mike and I met with Dr. B at the Beaumont Breast Care Center to start discussing my surgery. It was nice to see everyone over there - the staff is always super friendly and they were very curious to see how I was doing. Dr. B examined me before our chat and she was "pleasantly surprised" at the changes she felt and the apparent difference that chemo was making. This was very encouraging to hear! The three of us talked for quite awhile and Mike and I got many questions answered regarding what to expect with my upcoming double mastectomy. We all agreed that time is flying and that surgery will be here before we know it so it's good to get the ball rolling with this. Dr. B anticipates that my surgery will be scheduled for the last week of September or the first week in October. However, if any of my chemo treatments are delayed, this will definitely change. In addition to that, this surgery date will have to be coordinated with whichever plastic surgeon I decide to go with because they will begin the reconstruction process on the same day as Dr. B performs the mastectomy. To be quite honest, I am pretty nervous about the surgery and recovery process, but I trust Dr. B and her team 100% and look forward to conquering the next obstacle in my path! Come Thursday morning we were back to see Dr. F at Karmanos for the next round of fun in Chemo-land. Dr. F was happy that Round #4 had gone so well for me, in addition to that my weight and blood pressure have both remained stable which I was happy to hear. My hemoglobin and platelets continue to drop which is somewhat expected, I just hope it doesn't continue to happen and eventually delay any of my future rounds of chemo. If my hemoglobin continues to drop, it will mean that I have to have a blood transfusion which I would like to avoid. Dr. F gave me the scoop on what to expect with the new course of treatment which is the drug, Taxol. He said that most people feel much better while on Taxol as compared to the previous regimen of drugs I was on. Dr. F said the biggest complaint he hears is that many patients experience peripheral neuropathy once they get about half way through the Taxol treatments. There isn't much I can do to avoid it or treat it, we'll just have to wait and see and deal with it, if and when it occurs. The good news is that Mike no longer has to give me the injection of Neulasta the day after chemo. This was an injection he would administer into my arm 24 hours after chemo to stimulate my bone marrow to produce white blood cells. Although I must admit he did a great job, I am happy to rid my life of one additional needle. Mike and I came home from chemo, packed up the car, and immediately headed south to Nashville to celebrate Joe & Lauren's wedding! We had a wonderful weekend spent in a fun city, with great friends, and to top it all off - I felt pretty darn good considering I had just finished my fifth round of chemo! We explored the scene in downtown Nashville, ate at yummy restaurants, and enjoyed some amazing live music! On Saturday, we traveled outside of the city to a gorgeous country farm where Joe & Lauren's wedding took place. It was raining so incredibly hard all day, but somehow ended up turning into a sunny, beautiful evening for an outdoor wedding. We had a such a great time with our friends and we were so happy we could be there to celebrate Joe & Lauren's big day! Although I felt great most of the weekend, I think it caught up with me a bit today. I am now battling what seems to be a raging head cold and it feels as though someone took a rake to my throat. :( In addition to that, I had a crazy skin reaction over the weekend which resulted in huge blisters on the outside border and bottom part of both my feet. It started after walking only about 1/2 mile in shoes that I have worn a million times so I know this is not your usual case of blisters due to breaking in a new pair of sandals. Upon waking up today, I realized that they had started to look a little worse (one opened up and was draining suspicious looking fluid) in addition to an elevated level of pain. This sort of thing is very worrisome for me now that I have to be so careful to avoid any type of infection. After speaking with my doctor, I was advised to stay in bed and off my feet today, soak them in epsom salts and keep them clean and infection free! Luckily, I don't have to get on antibiotics or go into the clinic to see him. Although Dr. F said this would be a very rare side effect from the Taxol, it could be related to the last set of drugs I was previously on and they will examine my feet this Thursday when I go for my next round of chemo. Always something, huh?! Before I wrap up, I want to give a quick CONGRATULATIONS to my beautiful friend and college roomie Meg B who also got married this past Saturday in Columbus. I am so bummed I couldn't be there to celebrate with you and see all of my college girlies - if only I could clone myself and be in Nashville and Columbus at the same time. :) Congrats Meg and JR..I am so happy for you both! I also want to send an early congratulations to another gorgeous college roomie of mine. My wonderful friend, Julie R. is getting married this upcoming Saturday in San Diego. Jules, you are going to be a stunning bride and I so badly wish I could be there to celebrate with you and Grant! Love you guys! I am looking forward to a somewhat slower week and some quality time with a few girl friends mixed in too. I hope everyone had a great weekend and continues to have a wonderful week! Check out some of my pics below for a peek into our fun times down in Nashville! xoxo, Meghan Friday was spent exploring the amazing sights of downtown Nashville.... On Saturday, we celebrated Joe & Lauren's wedding on a beautiful farm in the hills of Tennessee. I couldn't get a great shot of the lovely couple during the ceremony but captured this cute one of Joe celebrating as the new Mr. & Mrs. Phillips walked down the aisle! Love these ladies! Great times with great friends! Adorable and charming details everywhere you looked...
A new week + new weather - fatigue = finally feeling like myself again! We finally welcomed warm weather (in the 90's today!) and I finally bid farewell to my fatigue from Round #3. I was so excited to wake up today and finally have energy and feel "normal" again. It's a bummer that it took this long this time - since I have another round of chemo coming up in two days - but hey, I will take what I can get! I was feeling great today, the sun was shining bright, and my brother opened his pool this past weekend...sounds like a recipe for an amazing day. Add in my great friend, Katie and her adorable 2 year old, Emma - and it was quite the pool party. :) I can't tell you how fabulous it felt to enjoy an afternoon outside, laughing, chatting and not thinking for one second about feeling exhausted, or achy, or nauseous. It made me realize how truly debilitating the fatigue was for me this last round. I am so thankful that today was able to serve as a much needed reminder of how great life is and how wonderful I can feel once my body takes the time it needs to rest and recover. I look forward to many more days like this in the future! Miss Emma was not really interested in looking at the camera today, despite numerous attempts and bribes from Katie & I. She was loving that water though! ps - what do you guys think of my big, floppy, J Lo inspired hat?! Gotta come up with something to keep this bald head from baking in the sun. :) Finally caught a shot on my phone with some eye contact & smile Prior to today, I still wasn't feeling too hot so needless to say, we took it pretty easy this Memorial Day weekend. However, I did make it to my good friend Lindsay's bachelorette party this past Saturday. It was frustrating for me to have to leave after just a couple hours (once the crazy-fun bar crawling began!), but I could tell this run-down body had enough and needed to hit the road and rest. I was glad I could make it for a little bit and see my little "Stepankie" all dolled up and glowing with excitement for her upcoming wedding day! Some of my fabulous former co-workers & great friends at Lindsay's bach party! This upcoming weekend, Mike and I will be heading to Petoskey to celebrate Lindsay and Justin's wedding! I am so excited to see how gorgeous and happy my little Lindsay will be. It will be wonderful to have a weekend away and I am praying that I feel well enough to not only enjoy Lake Michigan and the beautiful Petoskey area, but to also break it down on the dance floor with Cocoa (aka Chanell -pictured far left above). :) My awesome friends on the 3 Day team have two great fundraisers planned in the upcoming weeks. Kara has set up a night of Yin Yoga at The Detroit Flyhouse in Eastern Market in Detroit. Kara describes Yin Yoga as, "regular yoga poses held for longer periods of time and done by candlelight". Sounds very relaxing and therapeutic to me! Sign me up! Check out the flyer below: Stacy has planned a fun night at Rosie O'Grady's in downtown Ferndale. You can't beat an all you can eat salad and pizza buffet for $15, especially for a great cause and with such wonderful company! Check out her flyer for more details and make sure to RSVP by June 10th. I really hope to see you there! Thank you so much for all of your support for the "Meghan Malley Rally" 3 Day team! They are doing an amazing job with their fundraising, thanks in great part to a lot of you that have made such generous contributions.
I also want to say thanks for the continued thoughts, prayers, and support. You have no idea how much a comment on the blog, a text message, a card - truly means to me, especially during the tough days. It really means more than you know and it brings me such comfort to be able to go back and read your comments and thoughts and know that so many people are praying for us and thinking of us. So keep it comin' folks! :) Please say a prayer for a great Round #4 of chemo - the last round of what is supposedly the hardest part of my chemo schedule before I switch drugs. Keep your fingers crossed for a little less fatigue so that I can enjoy this upcoming weekend away with Mike and our friends while we celebrate Lindsay and Justin's wedding! I hope you all have a great rest of your week and a wonderful weekend ahead! xoxo, Meg Wow, where to begin?! This has truly been one of the most amazing weeks of our lives! It's best you sit in a comfy chair, kick your feet up, and grab a snack or beverage while reading this because it's gonna be one long post. :) Last weekend began with some of our very best friends, Brinley, Andy, and baby Andrew coming to visit on Friday from West Palm Beach. We had a perfect weekend filled with lots of laughs, yummy food, and of course a million photos taken of Andrew by Aunt Meggie. Look at this face...how could I not?! I just love these little tootsies! Andrew grabbed his own toes for the first time this weekend and I was able to catch him in action. Brin, Andy & Andrew-I can't tell you enough how much your visit meant to me. It came at the perfect time and was exactly what I needed. There is nothing better to help lift your spirits and take your mind off of hard times as seeing wonderful friends and snuggling the cutest little guy ever! I miss you all so much already and can't wait to see you guys in August! Love you! After the Johnson's left, Monday night was the incredbile Coldstone Creamery fundraiser benefiting the "Meghan Malley Rally" team for Susan G. Komen's 3 Day for a Cure. True to Michigan form, you can never count on the weather around here and it turned out to be a super cold day. Well let me tell you, that did not stop anyone from coming out to get some ice cream for a great cause! My wonderful friend Sarah was the mastermind behind this entire event and many of my great friends on the 3 Day team were guest scoopers. They worked their booties off! The place was packed from 6pm until well after 9pm! It was incredible! One of my besties from high school, Jenny, drove all the way from Grand Rapids to come support us at Coldstone! Love you Jen! And 3 of my amazing friends from PT school (including Melis' 6 week old sweet baby girl), came out for some ice cream too! Sarah - thank you so much for setting all of this up and for working your tail off all night! You are the best girl! The adorable and hard working ladies of the 3 Day team that were scooping machines on Monday night! Love you guys! A huge thank you to Nikki, Lindsay, Stacy, Becca, Kara and Sarah for working so hard all night and raising a ton of money for such an important cause! I am so honored to have you guys doing this for the "Meghan Malley Rally" team. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every single person that packed that Coldstone on Monday night! It was so great to see new and old friends, community members, co-workers, former patients, and family members. I loved catching up with all of you and can't thank you enough for your support! This amazing event raised over $2,000 in tips alone for the 3 Day team and another $200 on top of that from 10% of all sales! What an incredibly successful night thanks to all of you! I promised myself and Mike that Tuesday would be spent doing nothing but resting from the past few days festivities, and gearing up for what we knew would be an incredible day on Wednesday at Waterford Kettering for the "Malley Rally Benefit Baseball Game". I don't even know where to begin to describe what an amazing day and evening this was! The entire Waterford Community came out in full force to support us, especially Mike, and it was the most heart warming thing I have ever seen. The Waterford Kettering parents, baseball players, teachers, and students truly rallied around us and showed Mike just how much he means to them. For those of you that don't know, Mike has been on a leave of absence from work for the last two weeks in order to help take care of me. So, his Kettering family has definitely been missing him - and they showed it! It was absolutely incredible to see how excited everyone was to see him - especially his baseball players. He has missed being with them, and coaching them, and he was equally as excited to see them on Wednesday! Literally, hundreds of people came out to support us and it was truly overwhelming! There was a touching opening ceremony, Mike threw out a ceremonial first pitch, former Detroit Red Wings goalie Manny Legace came out to support us, there was an adorable pink VIP tent set up for us, a fabulous "Malley's Munchies" snack bar, amazing raffle prizes, and many other fabulous touches throughout the event. They raised thousands of dollars in donations and gift cards in order to support us and the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for a Cure. It far exceeded our expectations and it was amazing! Not even the on and off rain and dreary weather could dampen our spirits or the heart with which the Kettering Captains played that day. A professional photographer was on hand to document the day and all the special touches. I can't wait to see his pictures and hopefully share them with you so you can truly see how incredible this was. Here are a few quick shots that I was able to capture and a few that others have shared with me. I wish I had one of the sea of pink shirts that surrounded the entire ballpark - it was truly amazing! Pre-game group shot with the Waterford Kettering Captains and the Lakeland Eagles, along with former Detroit Red Wing goaltender, Manny Legace (pictured on far right). Even Lakeland's team sported pink socks and wristbands and even raised money for the "Malley Rally"! Thank you Lakeland! Two of my beautiful aunts along with my mom supporting the "Malley Rally"....ps. Happy Birthday Aunt Carol! Thank you for sharing your special day with us! The awesome jersey's created by Triple Thread Custom Design & Apparel for the Waterford Kettering Captains Varsity team! They were also decked out in pink hats, belts and socks! We loved it! How do we even begin to say thank you to the Waterford Community for putting this together? Especially to Anne Nolan, Kim Mortimore and every other person that played a role in this event. There is no way to truly explain to you how much this touched our hearts. As a wife, I cannot thank you enough for doing this for Mike. Obviously, I have always known what an incredible teacher, coach, co-worker, and mentor he is to many. I have watched him work so hard for years - giving all he has to make an impact on his students and players. He has never complained of working long hours, or coming home late, or giving up his nights and weekends to coach nearly year round...because he truly loves it!!! He is so passionate about what he does and it has always been so obvious to me that everyone in the Kettering Community sees that and appreciates him so much. However, I don't think Mike has ever truly realized how much he is valued and loved - how much of an impact he has made on so many kids - how many lives he has touched, just by being the wonderful person that he is! The single best thing about the "Malley Rally" for me, was witnessing my amazing husband finally realize how incredible he is to so many people. I have truly never been more proud to be his wife. Mike, I love you very much and it is the greatest honor of my life to be known as your wife! ♥ After an amazing, yet long day at Kettering, we woke up around 6:45am on Thursday to head to an early morning chemo appointment at Karmanos. Unfortunately, we don't always get much choice about the appointment time so we were stuck with an early one this week. It happened to be a full house at Karmanos which meant we were there for a little over 4 hours! Needless to say, Mike & I were both pretty exhausted after that and slept most of Thursday away. On an extremely positive note, Dr. F always completes a thorough physical exam before each chemo treatment, which involves some measurements of my breast and the tumors that he can palpate. Although it is a rough measurement, it does allow him to have somewhat of a sense of progress or lack thereof. He was very pleased to report this week that everything seems to be heading in the right direction and the palpable tumor mass seems to be shrinking! Thank God! There is always a risk that you may not respond to the current chemo regimen, but so far it does appear that my body is responding well! We were thrilled with this news! Dr. F did acknowledge that from here on out, it becomes harder to feel any changes due to overall changes in the breast tissue with further chemo treatments. So, we will have to wait until all of my tests/scans are completed after my last chemo treatment, which is currently scheduled for September 1st. I responded amazingly well after my 2nd round of chemo, once Dr. F made a great call by taking me off a particular anti-nausea drug and switching it with something else. It made all the difference in the world. I didn't have any side effects that time, aside from fatigue, which is pretty unavoidable. No nausea, no lightheadedness, no body aches - it was such a nice change of pace! Keep your fingers crossed that I respond just as well to this 3rd round! So far, so good! After resting Thursday and Friday, I decided I might try to to make it down to the Race for the Cure in Detroit on Saturday morning. A great group of my girlfriends were all doing the race in honor of "Team Malley" and I had told them that I knew I would be too wiped out to go. Well, Saturday morning I woke up early and was feeling pretty good - so I surprised them at their meeting place before the race. It was wonderful to see everybody and head downtown with them for the opening ceremonies! It turned out to be a beautiful morning and the turnout at Comerica Park was incredible! We were also able to run into some other friends and family members which was great too. And to top it all off, our team was recorded numerous times with the local NBC news anchor, Guy Gordon, and should be seen on Local 4 News throughout the next few days! :) The amazing Team Malley before the Race for the Cure! I love you guys so much! Local 4 NBC anchor, Guy Gordon with Team Malley! We were even filmed for promo spots for the Race for the Cure! (Sorry you got cut out of this shot, Court!) Some great Kettering Crew co-workers of Mike's were also participating in Saturday's Race for the Cure! After leaving the event as the race started, I came home and crashed -nothing like a 4 hour nap to get some energy back. Wow - what a week it has truly been! I almost wish we could have sprinkled these amazing events throughout the next couple of months in order to continue boost our spirits throughout the summer. But, the incredible amount of love, support, and blessings we have received this week will be something that we can always look back on during hard times. The memories from this week will be sure to make us smile and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for....most importantly, YOU! We are so grateful to each and every one of you that shows us in one way or another, just how much you care about us. Through your prayers, your cards, your fundraising, your donations, your gifts, your meals, your presence....we are just continually blown away by it all and not one single gesture, large or small, goes unnoticed. We can never thank you all enough for everything you have done for us! We will never forget it and it will continue to help us get through the tough times that may lay ahead.
xoxo, Meghan Just a quick reminder to mark your calendar for some great events coming up next week... On Monday, May 16th my amazing friends are going to be guest scoopers at Coldstone Creamery in downtown Royal Oak. Stop by from 6-9pm to get some yummy ice cream while also supporting the "Meghan Malley Rally" team for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day For a Cure. Coldstone is generously donating 100% of all tips and 10% of all sales to the 3 Day team. Ice cream + my beautiful friends + donating to an amazing cause = a night you don't want to miss! The incredible parents and players of Mike's varsity baseball team have decided to turn their double header on Wednesday, May 18 into a charity game to also benefit the "Meghan Malley Rally" 3 Day For a Cure team! They have done an amazing job planning this event and it sounds like it will be an truly wonderful day. All of the players will be wearing pink, spectators will be able to purchase custom made t-shirts, and there will be other great things such as raffles, food, and hopefully lots of hits from the Kettering Captains! Come by at 4pm to support the Captains and the "Meghan Malley Rally" 3 Day team! Waterford Kettering High School is located at 2800 Kettering Drive, Waterford MI and the ball park is located directly behind the high school. If you are unable to make it but would like to donate to the "Meghan Malley Rally" please click here. As if this wasn't incredible enough, another group of my awesome friends are participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. This event will take place next Saturday, May 21 at Comerica Park in Detroit with opening ceremonies at 8am. My friends have done a fabulous job fundraising for "Team Malley", and I couldn't be more proud of them! Please feel free to head downtown to meet up with the team and participate in either a one mile walk, or a 5K walk or run - fundraising is not required to participate on the day of the event. To make a donation to "Team Malley" please click here, or for more general information on the Race for the Cure please click here. I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for all of your time, effort and hard work to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This cause is obviously now extremely close to our hearts and raising money to help their efforts means so much to us. There is still a long way to go in regards to research for prevention, treatments, and cures - especially for young women with advanced stage disease, such as myself. It is my sincere wish that each dollar you are helping us raise will prevent another young woman from going through what myself and my family are going through right now. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. xoxo, Meg |
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