She fought valiently and with dignity...   |   Thursday, June 21, 2012

Again, with too much frequency of late, I come to our readers with the loss of another one of our Bold and Beautiful women. Telina "Tina" McAllister finally is free of pain.

Labels: #bebold, bald woman, bald women, Be Bold Feel Beautiful, pancreatic cancer, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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"I live in church....it's where God speaks to me."   |   Thursday, June 14, 2012

Joyce, age 64, discovered her own lump in 2009, as many women do... a small lump in her breast and a casual trip to the doctor. Originally, just drained and said to be benign, she moved on, thinking nothing more of it. But when that same breast became unusually painful, she was alarmed. In March 2011, mammography found a Stage 2, breast cancer, with 3 of 10 nodes involved. She was devastated... I just wanted to know, "Am I going to die? Cancer in my mind, was a death sentence."


Now, having undergone 3 surgeries and then a mastectomy, 35 rounds of chemo and 32 radiation treatments, she's come out a different lady on the other side!


"I walked my first Komen walk this year and met so many other people. It was so encouraging to know that there were so many people who care about us.... I cried the whole time.... There was so much love there!" Her faith is very important to her and she spends much of her time in her church, Grace Tabernacle... "trust in the Lord, He will see you through anything. I really think He was trying to get my attention!"

She's come out so much stronger, as many of these women do. She's taking her journey and documenting it in a book she's writing. Compiled from her journals and writings each day... she plans to tell her story in a format that might help other women, walking in the same shoes. She's making lemonade out of lemons and she's taking better care of herself, having lost 100#, just eating differently.

She readily admits, "I've always been afraid of people hurting me and I never let people get too close, till now." I'm so happy that she's chosen to be stronger because of this! She is the picture of confidence and beauty!

Labels: #bebold, bald woman, bald women, Be Bold Feel Beautiful, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, cancer, susan g. komen, Susan G. Komen Mid-Michigan, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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Sometimes you just look normal....   |   Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Everyone loves to see kids at play, laughing, running and jumping....but sometimes that just can't happen. Especially those with blood disorders... 6 year old Layla wants to be a phlebotomist someday, when she grows up, "to make peoples blood better."


After noticing some unusual bruising, parents, Jason and Jennifer took their daughter to the doctor to investigate. With several trips to Detroit Children's Hospital, CS Mott and Mayo Clinic, in 2011, she was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, which  is a rare disorder caused by profound, almost complete bone marrow failure. With no known immediate cause, she was immediately hospitalized to receive platelets, as she was at a very high risk for hemmorhage. Being poked and prodded with needles for constant blood draws, Layla told her Mom, "I promise I'm OK Mom, I just want to go home!" 




A year later, she appears to be a fairly normal child, still is being monitored for abnormal blood counts, still struggling with low platelet counts. I'm sure she'd love to run and play and ride a bike, but with hemorrhage a consequence, she doens't get to do too much of that....




What physical activity in your life do you take for granted? I'm sure Layla would change places with you.

Labels: anemia in children, Aplastic Anemia, childhood blood disorders, childhood diseases, Oldham Kids, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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Just a big kid....with cancer.   |   Thursday, June 7, 2012

After having her appendix removed, Katlynn developed some unusual, swollen glands... thinking it all part of the recent surgery, they initially thought nothing of it. But, as time went on, it became more apparent that something was wrong. Katlynn, age 20 was then diagnosed at Sparrow Hematology/Oncology Clinic, with Acute Lymphocytic and Acute Myeloid Leukemia and immediately started on aggressive chemotherapy.

Labels: The Oldham Project

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Oldham woman are not only Bold and Beautiful, but BRAVE to the end...   |   Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Cancer sucks. It just plain sucks. It continues to take the lives of young and vital and incredible people every day... and for Oldham, it's taken another.
Kathy Naseman of Portland, MI passed on June 2, 2012. She is an 'alumni' of the 2010 group of Bold and Beautiful women, coming to the studio with her son Nick. At age 42, she hadn't begun to live the best years of her life. Taken from her only child, her young son, much too soon, she fought a valient battle with Breast Cancer for 5 years. Originally diagnosed with the cancer in 2007, she was then given the diagnosis of metastatic bone cancer in 2009. When I saw her in 2010, she was in the midst of more rounds of chemo, but the cancer was rapidly progressing. She knew that she was pretty sick and that the odds of her beating this were probably pretty slim. Her message to other women was to "make sure you get your annual check up and do your monthly self exams... you always think it won't happen to you."
Her son Nick told me today that at the beginning of this year, she was told that the cancer had spread to her bone marrow and her brain. But wanting to save her family from the heart-ache and worry, she told no one and kept this news to herself. Hospitalized this past week, she slipped into a coma on Saturday and peacefully passed into Heaven the same day. Her family called last night to ask permission to share about The Oldham Project and our mission. Kathy felt that these pictures were so very important to her and her family.... and even more important now that she is gone.
Memorial services will be held in Portland, MI this coming Saturday.


What we do IS important. Just ask Nick and her sister Connie.

Labels: #bebold, bald woman, bald women, Be Bold Feel Beautiful, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, cancer, susan g. komen, Terri Shaver, The Oldham Project

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