Dinah Zike cancer update

Lapbook and manipulative fans know Dinah Zike is a household name in this industry. I just recieved this from her mailing and thought I would pass it on so as to increase the prayers heading her way:

"Dear Friends in Education,

On Sept. 1st of this year I was diagnosed with breast
cancer. Needless to say, the diagnosis was totally unexpected, very
shocking, and completely life-changing, but as hundreds of thousands
of women have experienced before me, it is surmountable! My husband,
Ignacio, has been by my side and continues to help me daily as he
does his architectural work from home, and Cecile (who has been with
me 18 years) and all the employees of my company are keeping things
moving forward as my energy level is greatly reduced.

I had a mastectomy on Sept. 20th, and I am doing very well. The
cancer had spread to three lymph nodes, but they removed 14 to be
safe. I am slowly recovering a wider range of arm movement on my left
side, but still experience great discomfort from nerve ending
damage. I hear this, too, will subside with time. The cancer was a
Grade 3 cell (very deformed and fast growing), and I started
chemotherapy on Oct. 19. I will have six months of chemo and then 5-6
weeks of radiation. I was neither estrogen nor progesterone positive,
so I will not be able to take the new oral cancer medications, but
will take an IV drug called Herceptin for a year instead. I've had a
port/cath implanted in my upper right chest to receive the next 16
months of IV treatments.

They say I will lose my hair within the next few weeks, and I'm
definitely going to be thinner! Ignacio says he is going to shave his
head when I lose my hair, but I'm not sure I want him to. I think at
least one of us should have hair. I'm going to get a very short hair
cut the end of this week; I've always been afraid to try it--now is
the time!

My cancer was NOT detectable by self examination, and it could not be
felt once the mammogram showed its exact location. Please stress the
importance of mammograms to those you love. I want to share my
experiences with breast cancer in hope that other women will be
encouraged to go for regular tests. I was scheduled to go in May, but
postponed it until Sept. I am so fortunate we found it when we did,
what if I had waited another year? Don't wait!

I am enjoying my time at home immensely, and I'm able to write and
design! I'm currently working on and supervising the production of
new Foldable Math manipulatives, my long overdue World History book
(which is nearly ready!) and four new language arts books for
phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. I am looking forward to being home
with my family this fall and holiday season.

My workshops have been canceled until late Spring '07(hopefully I'll
be doing short conference presentations by late Spring, too). We will
also continue Dinah Zike Academy trainer-of-trainer sessions in
February '07. As many of you know, my Academy is held in historic
Comfort, Texas, in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and I look
forward to working with visiting teachers just a few blocks from our
home. Check the DZAcademy website http://www.dzacademy.com for dates
and classes offered.

I thank you for your support through the years, and ask you to help
me continue to share my Foldables and three-dimensional interactive
graphic organizers with students and teachers.

My husband and I are blessed. We thank you deeply for your prayers
and best wishes, and I look forward to seeing you at workshops and
conferences in the near future.

Dinah Zike"

Comments

[Cay Gibson]

I didn't know.
Thanks for the update, Kim.
Will keep her in my prayers.

[Donna Marie]

I didn't know either! Thanks for letting me know.
I am looking forward to seeing her new work. I would love to see what she came up with in the Language arts section. I was just thinking of this very thing yesterday.

[Alice Gunther]

I hadn't heard this, but I will be praying.