My journey started on December 10, 2011.

Coming from a family that has a history of breast cancer, I have been very diligent in going for all my screenings, so I thought. I always do my annual check-ups during the month of September but, in 2011 my check-ups were scheduled for December.

I went to my OBGYN and she gave me my annual check-up. She felt no lumps and gave me my referral for my mammogram. On the day the test was scheduled, I considered skipping the mammogram because I’d had one every year since 1977 — the year my sister, Phyllis died of breast cancer — and have always had a clean bill of health. But something told me to get up, and go for the mammogram. I proceeded to go for my screening.

I knew something was not right; they were taking picture after picture, and then sent me for a sonogram. About 40 minutes later, I was told that I needed to see a doctor right away. In the doctor’s office, she proceeded to tell me that she believed I had cancer and that it was very aggressive — possibly stage IV. I was dazed. All I could think of was how do I break the news to my husband, children, sisters and my 96-year old mother. This would surely kill her since she has already lost one daughter to this insidious disease.

The surgeon scheduled me for a biopsy the next day. She called me two days later to confirm her suspicions: I have breast cancer. I was shaking. I went home and told my husband. The expression on his face will be etched in my mind forever. I called my sisters. They were devastated for we had been through this 36 years before with my older sister Phyllis, a victim of breast cancer.

The next day I received a call from the doctor and she wanted to operate on me the following week. My mind was going 1,000 miles an hour. I needed time to think. I needed to be strong and get my thoughts in order.  I needed to protect my family and make sure they were taken care of.

My husband and sisters were adamant about me getting a second opinion. My sister, Barbara, gave me the number for Dr. Filardi, a highly successful and highly recommended breast cancer doctor. We went to his office together, as a team. It was now five days before Christmas. I walked in his office with my pathology reports expecting to hear how long my life expectancy would be (one month, six months, one year). Instead, I heard nothing but positive reinforcement:

“Mrs. Trimble this is not the cancer of 35 years ago, or 5 years ago, one year ago. Cancer is very treatable and from what I see here, so is yours.”

Oh my God, suddenly there was hope on the horizon.

I believe the only day I cried is when I got the phone call that I had stage II cancer. The cancer was in the right breast and in the lymph nodes under my right arm, but it had nottravelled anywhere else. I was extremely anxious to meet with Dr. Vinciguerra, the Head of Oncology at North Shore Hospital. In the meantime, I started to read everything I could on breast cancer and was alarmed when I read how many different types there are.  I did not know which one I had, only that it was aggressive.

Oh God, how do I tell my children and when do I tell them.

Christmas Day we are all together and I discussed with my husband that I would tell them after we were done celebrating and ready to go home. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. That is when the over- whelming feeling of strength came over me.  I was not going to succumb to cancer, I was going to fight and I was determined to win! When I told my youngest son Robert, he just said,  “I know you will be fine, you are the strongest woman I know, and you are a fighter.” That was all I had to hear. From that day forward I never would allow myself to have a negative thought about survival.

On January 18, 2012, my chemo treatments were started and they were administered every other Wednesday until April 25, 2012.

I cannot explain the feeling or what dimension your subconscious evolves but it feels like a place between life and death. This is where the real fight comes in. You can succumb to the feeling of helplessness or you can get up, get dressed and go on with your life. I chose to go to work and do everything feasible to live my life as normally as possible.

I love working for Delta Air Lines and Flight Operations. Everyone has been so good to me and the support I receive is truly overwhelming. At one point, you could not walk into my home without stepping on a bouquet. I received hundreds and hundreds of get-well cards, phone calls, beautiful gifts and delicious meals. That brought tears of joy to my eyes.

I chose to cut my own hair off. Cancer was not going to make that decision for me. It was devastating to lose my eyebrows and eyelashes. However, the American Cancer Society held classes for cancer patients on how to use make up to camouflage the flaws. The classes offered invaluable guidance and advice. Thank God, my chemo was completed on April 25, 2012.

Next step, surgery.

I had to make a huge decision. After all the reading and research I did, I chose to have both breasts removed. I was ecstatic to hear that the surgery was going to be performed at St. Francis, a hospital with a stellar reputation. The angels were smiling down on me.

Two doctors, the surgeon, Dr. Filardi, and the plastic surgeon, Dr. Antonio Uria, performed a TRAM-FLAP procedure, which is when the surgeon performs the actual mastectomy and the plastic surgeon reconstructs your breasts from tissue taken from your abdomen. The TRAM-FLAP was a success: 18 lymph nodes were removed, two were metastasis, six had tumor cells and 10 were clean. My doctors were very pleased. All the nurses and staff at St. Francis are fantastic. I received the best professional care anyone could ever ask for. Thank you, St Francis!

Next step, radiation.

It was strongly recommended that I have radiation to ensure that we kill anything that might be left over. Oh no, a setback. On July 4^th, one month after my surgery, my right tram was failing. I called Dr. Uria immediately and he answered his phone.  He told me not to worry that this happens and he would see me first thing in the morning.  At 8.00 am the next day, I was in his office and he was addressing the problem.

I told him I needed to start radiation therapy and he was very compassionate and told me not to worry that he would correct anything that radiation destroyed. This man is just too good to be true. He worked on saving the breast and did it within the time limits of starting my radiation treatments.

I started radiation August 13 and finished on September 18, 2012. I am a BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR and I will continue to survive this horrific disease.

Thank you,

Angie

At first I thought it was a scam. You know those emails that sneak into your inbox — “Congratulations! You won…”? I usually delete them with one click. But this one was different. This email was personal (“Dear Marcela”) and that is what caught my eye as I was about send it to the trash. So I read it, and then I reread — and I read it a third time out loud. At that point, everything clicked. I remembered that night a few weeks back when I entered Delta’s Behind the Blues contest while procrastinating from my work.

I entered because, as a huge soccer fan, I was thrilled that Delta was supporting a Premier League soccer team. I thought that was a great step for soccer in the United States. And it was a great opportunity for Chelsea fans, and fans of the beautiful game, to be able to experience firsthand what it is like to not just watch Chelsea play, but to also feel the stadium vibrate with excitement and anticipation when the team takes the pitch. We hear about big companies supporting the NFL and the MLB, but supporting soccer…that is something to be celebrated for sure.

So before I tell you about our amazing experience in London, I want to first and foremost thank Delta for being an avid promoter of Chelsea, the Premier League for supporting soccer fans here in the U.S. and of course for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I don’t think the reality of the trip truly hit us until we were on the Delta flight to London. In the days before the trip, I had to fly to Mexico for a conference, fly back, and pack up and move my entire apartment. There was no time to process or plan. So once we were on the flight, the excitement and reality of winning this contest finally began to set it. Needless to say, we were ecstatic for the entire eight-hour red eye flight.

When we finally arrived in Heathrow, we realized how lucky we were to not only win a trip to London but to win this trip for August 2012. Our timing could not have been more perfect. We arrived just after the end of the Olympics and days before the start of the Paralympics. The city was still vibrating from the festivities earlier that month, but the crowds had greatly subsided. As a result, we were able to experience the atmosphere of London 2012 but on our own time and at our own pace. We took in all of the sites: London’s Tower Bridge (and the Olympic rings!), the London Eye, Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Parliament, Leicester Square. And that was only the first day!

Day 2 was the big match: Chelsea vs. New Castle at Stamford Bridge. We headed over the stadium 3 hours early. Even the gloomy forecast (“torrential downpours and high speed winds”) couldn’t dampen our excitement. Once we arrived at Stamford Bridge, we headed straight to the Chelsea megastore, where we spent a good portion of the $500 spending money on Chelsea merchandise.

Decked out in Chelsea gear, including Chelsea rain ponchos, we made our way to the VIP lounge at the Copthorne Hotel to meet up with the Delta representative. At this point I think we were still a bit incredulous about the whole experience. Yes, even after flying to London, checking into our hotel, and spending our traveller’s checks, we still didn’t quite believe that we had won this incredible contest. As we stepped into the VIP lounge, I realized that I had been holding my breath since receiving that initial “Congratulations” email. I had been expecting something, anything, to go wrong — “What if we can’t find the Delta representative?”, “What if they don’t know we are coming?”, “ What if something went wrong or there was a mistake?”. But sure enough, everything worked out perfectly. We met the Delta rep who handed us our tickets and introduced us to an extremely friendly group of Delta employees. We chatted about the game, drank some beers, and headed into the match just as Chelsea was taking the pitch to warm-up. As we took our seats in the stadium, I finally allowed myself to accept that I had been chosen as the lucky winner of the Behind the Blues contest. I realized that this stuff actually happens, and that it happened to me!

Side note: watching Petr Cech warm-up was definitely on the top of my list of amazing moments!

The game was everything that I was hoping it would be. We got the win (of course). A Fernando Torres goal and some incredible saves by Cech (to be expected). But what I loved most of all was the atmosphere of the stadium, and the fervor surrounding the match. Both Chelsea and New Castle fans were engaged in a verbal joust — singing, cheering, and chanting in unison — from the time the teams hit the pitch till after the final whistle was blown: “We know what we are…Champions of Europe, we know what we are!”.

The stadium was very much alive with the energy and passion of over 44,000 fans. Even as an “outsider” you can’t help but be swept up in that energy and drawn in by that passion. It is contagious to say the least. For those people out there who say that soccer is “boring”, they have clearly never experienced firsthand what it is like to be at a soccer match like this. They have never gone hoarse from singing for 90 minutes straight. They have never felt the stadium vibrate with anticipation as the ball soars towards the goal. And they have clearly never “bled blue” chanting: “We’ve waited so long, but we’d wait forever. Our blood is blue and we would leave you never. 
And when we make it, it’ll be together…Oh oh oh!”.

What an incredible experience! The rest of the trip was just as amazing and memorable. Highlights include: afternoon tea, carnival in Notting Hill, Billy Elliot, Sheppard’s pie, boutique shopping, Harry Potter Studio Tour, strolling down the streets in the West End, the London 2012 Festival, and minding the gap.

Thank you Delta and Chelsea for these wonderful memories!

Marcela