A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
November 17, 2011
B
ELLEVILLE
Lights of Love
Benefit planned for cancer victim
Hearing the words “You have
breast cancer” once in a lifetime is
more than enough. But to hear
those words twice, is life-shatter-
ing.
That's how Belleville resident,
wife and mother Amy Rauch
Neilson described the news she
received on Jan. 12.
“I couldn't believe what my
oncologist was telling me. I was
diagnosed with stage four breast
cancer - and this diagnosis came
after I had already had a double
mastectomy and had been pretty
much declared “cured” following
my stage one diagnosis in 2006,”
she said. “I looked at her and said,
‘How is it possible to get breast can-
cer when I don't even have breasts
anymore?’”
Sadly, it is possible for a small
number of women who have
undergone a double-mastectomy in
the hopes of getting rid of their
breast tissue - and any chance of a
breast cancer recurrence. “When I
was diagnosed as a stage one in
2006, our son was just 6 months
old,” Neilson said. “I told the doc-
tors that I wanted to do everything
possible to get rid of the cancer and
ensure it wouldnever come back.”
Neilson, who learned she was a
carrier of the BRCA 1 gene, opted
for a double-mastectomy and four
preventative rounds of chemother-
apy - given to her as a type of
“insurance policy” against any
rogue cells that may have been
floating around in her body. She
was 4 years and 10 months clear of
breast cancer when she found a
lump early last January.
“I couldn't believe it,” she
recalled. “It was wedged between
my left implant andmy skin.”
Neilson began twice-weekly
chemotherapy treatments Feb. 1,
and has so far undergone 44 treat-
ments. Her breast cancer, which
spread into her breast lymphnodes
and lungs, has remained stable or
shown signs of shrinkage in period-
icCTScans andMRIs.
Unfortunately, the reality is that,
due to her ongoing chemotherapy
treatments, Neilson, who is self-
employed, has not been able to
work a full schedule since her diag-
nosis.
“The Sky Lanterns of Love
Benefit is the way her friends and
family are coming together to help
her and her family get through this
crisis,” her friend and benefit
organizerKristi Kahl said.
“At first, Amy didn't want to
accept the help. That's when I told
her that asking for help doesn't
mean you've failed; it means you're
not in it alone.”
A few weeks ago, Neilson's hus-
band, Don, was driving home from
work in his pick-up truck when he
first heard “I'm Gonna Love You
Through It,” by Martina McBride,
on the radio. He was so deeply
moved by the song that he had to
veer over to the side of the road
afterwards and pull himself back
together.
The next day, he forwarded the
music video to his wife with a sim-
ple message: You need to watch
this, babe. She did, and her reac-
tion mirrored her husband's, she
said. Tears flowed andNeilson said
she found great strength in the
knowledge that so many people
everywhere stood strong in this
fight together with their loved ones,
right by their side, every day, every
moment, every surgery and treat-
ment.
The McBride video features
small sky lights which are released
into the sky and then fall back to
earthwhen they extinguish.
“I can't imagine what it would
feel like to have so many people
gather around you to release
lanterns of pure white light heav-
enward,” Neilson said. That's when
Kahl decided it was time for her
friend to experience it for herself.
That was the inspiration behind
the upcoming benefit, Sky Lights of
Love, planned for Dec. 3, at the
Van Buren Township Lookout
Point.
Lanterns are $10 each, with pro-
ceeds being used to help with
Neilson's mounting medical bills.
To purchase a lantern, go to
www.itsinthegenes.org, and click
the “Events” tab. Lanterns are
available by advance purchase
only, via PayPal, through Nov. 27.
The event will take place from 4:30
- 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Van
Buren Park, 50901 S. 1-94 Service
Drive, between Belleville and
Rawsonville roads, in Van Buren
Township. Check-in will begin at
4:30, Neilson will speak at 5:30 and
the lantern releasewill happen at 6
p.m. sharp.
Neilson and her family are aim-
ing for complete remission. In
between treatments, “Amy lives life
to the fullest,” said her best friend
Kahl. “You'd never know by watch-
ing her on her off-chemo days that
she has cancer. She is out there,
carving pumpkins with her hus-
band and son, going on hayrides,
riding tractors, hosting a barbeque
- you name it. She is a true inspira-
tion.”
Neilson, who is a professional
writer and editor, began blogging
about her experiences inMay 2009.
But, following her January 2011
diagnosis, hits and subscribers to
her blog, www.itsinthegenes.org,
skyrocketed. She now has thou-
sands of subscribers in all 50 states
and 18 countries.
I looked at her
and said,
‘How is it possible
to get breast cancer
when I don't
even have breasts
anymore?’
”
Amy Rauch Neilson and husband, Don, and their son, Theodore, now 6
manage to smile despite the looming health crisis facing the family.