9 



My son came home to be my caretaker and investigated every 

 taxol program in the area. He became very informed. I used every 

 contact I had. After one denial and attempts to enter other pro- 

 grams, I finally did get into the NIH taxol program. It was the best 

 thing that ever happened to me. 



I cannot rave enough about NIH. Even though it was the most 

 difficult and scary time of my life, my experience at NIH was won- 

 derful. I love everyone. I felt good about being a so-called guinea 



pig- 



I am not saying that it was easy. I discovered that fighting 



cancer is a full-time job, but it was possible to handle the treat- 

 ment and still have an OK life-style, especially as a patient at NIH, 

 with all the caring personnel and extensive support. 



I have been lucky so far but I have met a lot of women in the 

 program that may not have had such a healthy time as I have had, 

 and most of them feel the same way as I do. Fortunate for every 

 day. When people tell me that I am remarkable, I always say, "I 

 know a lot of remarkable people." 



Since remission, I have gone back to my normal life. I serve on 

 the District of Columbia board of Share Our Strengths, Taste of the 

 Nation. I am currently teaching cooking to a group of WIC moth- 

 ers, emphasizing nutrition, economy, and how to vary the use of 

 WIC commodities. This, too, is an SOS program. Operation Front- 

 line. 



I chair the World Hunger Committee of the International Asso- 

 ciation of Culinary Professionals Foundation, and in April I was 

 awarded their Humanitarian Award for contributing to the Organi- 

 zation's understanding of world hunger. 



I also at this time sit on the board of Nurture, the Center to Pre- 

 vent Child Malnutrition, and have been appointed to the board of 

 World Food Day. 



Not only am I a living person, continuing to make a contribution, 

 but also a mother, a daughter, a head of a household — all as a 

 cancer survivor. 



About a year ago I was on a TV show, How'd They Do That?, a 

 story on how taxol was discovered. The director of the show noticed 

 that I live in the woods, as she said, "a tree house," that I had nat- 

 ural wooden floors and natural wooden furniture. She looked 

 around and said, "It is obvious that you love trees. Trees seem to 

 have played an important part in your life." 



I cherish the environment and have played my part in protecting 

 it. We can't even kill household pests. My husband liked to tell the 

 story that it was fine to conserve water, but I had so many bricks 

 in the toilets that they did not flush. 



Today, I feel very well. I am cautiously optimistic and very 

 aware of the long-term effect of taxol on my cancer, but I am still 

 very happy. There is always hope of a new discovery, a new treat- 

 ment. 



When I was treated with chemotherapy, I used happy experi- 

 ences in my life as imagery to get me through the not-so-happy 

 times. Ski runs were a favorite trick, and I'd asked my son, Kenan, 

 "Do you think I will ever ski again?" He would answer somberly, 

 "I don't know." 



