Who s ready for some free outdoor music?!   EVERYONE!

Earlier this year we asked for input on what people were missing most during the pandemic top three things were travel, live music and connecting with others.  Well, this Friday evening our friend's band is playing in Spartanburg at a small friendly outdoor venue!  Wear teal to help raise awareness about GYN cancers!

Come join Shannon and Dave!

Lecretia & ThunderRoad  (that's just fun to say!)
Friday May 21st
8PM - 10PM
at FR8yard (outside stage): 930 East Main Street Spartanburg, SC 29302


More about Lecretia?   She is a talent's young woman, and also a cervical cancer survivor who is looking to promote more awareness about the symptoms of this cancer and the importance for women to get regular Pap Smear tests to prevent (or catch early) this disease.   Come out and help us raise awareness,


https://lecretiaann.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LecretiaAnnMusic
More details:  https://www.facebook.com/events/615221596100570

We were honored to have the support of Julie Derouen, LCMHC of Skipping Stone Counseling, during our recent Super Survivor Retreat, support a group of our survivors dealing with some of the challenges and insights that come from a more advanced cancer diagnosis.

Julie shared her wisdom and guidance during our 2 hour Creative Heart Connection session using a creative mandala approach. Not familiar with a mandala? In short, the mandala's purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones and to assist with healing.   

THANK YOU Julie for your time, talent and compassion!!!
 ​

 
By Terlisa Sheppard, as told to Stephanie Watson
Terlisa is a Wind River Alum and a 19 year metastatic breast cancer survivor.

This article was published earlier this year by WEBMD.


Two Babies and a Cancer Diagnosis
My cancer journey started in 1998, when I was pregnant with my younger daughter. My older daughter had just turned 2.

I found a lump in my breast. Every time I went to my OB/GYN for my monthly visits, I would tell him about it. For some reason, maybe because I was only 31, he just kept saying, "It's nothing. It's probably clogged milk ducts." His final words to me were, "If you insist, Terlisa, we'll do a mammogram now and we'll do another one after your baby is born and compare the two." We never got to the second mammogram.

My breast surgeon did the biopsy. I had a stage III, triple-positive breast cancer. Because I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, my doctor said I should get induced and have the baby early, and then get treatment. I had aggressive chemotherapy to try to shrink the tumor before having surgery.

Get Your Life in Order
2002 was my year from hell. I went on aggressive chemotherapy treatment. I developed a blood clot in my lungs and a low white blood cell count. In one of my worst moments, I had to go to the bathroom but I was too weak to stand up. I remember getting down on the floor and crawling to the bathroom.

I said to myself, "This is the lowest you can get, Terlisa. It's all up from here."

Getting the Most out of Treatment
​I've been on just about every treatment that's available for advanced breast cancer. I had a mastectomy to remove my left breast. Then I did radiation therapy. I took hormone therapy. And I've been on trastuzumab (Herceptin) for years.
​
One of the first things I tell people who are starting breast cancer treatment is to advocate for yourself and learn all you can about your cancer. Twenty-two years ago when I was diagnosed, none of my friends, family, or co-workers understood my cancer. Neither did I. How could I advocate for myself when I didn't know what to talk about?
There are different subtypes of breast cancer. Make sure you know which one you have so you can get on the right treatment. Do your homework. And absolutely get a second opinion. You don't want to go on doubting, "Should I have done that?"

Anyone who has metastatic cancer knows there's a day in our future when our treatment will stop working. You need to be armed with the next type of treatment that's available based on your subtype. If you go into it blindly, then you're just taking whatever medicine is on the shelf as opposed to the one that works best.

Definitely try to get into a clinical trial. There hasn't been a large percentage of the Black community in clinical trials. How else can we learn about drugs like Herceptin, which saved my life?

What to Do About Side Effects.
Breast cancer treatments cause side effects. I don't minimize my side effects, but I try to be as realistic about them as possible. If I mentally let them break me down, then what kind of life am I living? 

I went through four different breast cancer diagnoses and treatments, and I lost my hair every time. For some women, that's their glory. They say, "You're taking my breast. Now you're taking my hair." Some women just cannot deal with that.
Cover your hair loss in whatever way makes you most comfortable. I didn't do the wigs. I wore hats and scarves. And I would always dress well and put makeup on to look my best.

I focus a lot on my mental health and on self-care. I go outside and walk. I do yoga. I go to the beach and meditate. These are some of the things I've done for myself over the years, and they have helped.

I love juicing fruits and vegetables. That really helped me when I was diagnosed with a brain metastasis in 2003 because I couldn't eat anything. I started eating again, and I started to feel better about myself.

Finding other people with metastatic breast cancer has also helped me. They get it. They understand. We can joke and talk about things other people might not get.

I'm not afraid of death anymore. Whatever happens, I'm going to focus on living in the moment and doing all I can for myself and for others. I use my situation, and my journey, to educate others.

Most of all, I stay positive. Remaining positive won't cure my cancer, but it can't hurt, either.
​

We will continue to offer one-on-one support and select zoom activities this spring, but we are also taking pause on larger retreat and group activities for some self-care time.  (Following our own advice!)

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Tai Chi Thursdays - with our favorite Tai Chi Mike
9am (dial in a little early and ask questions of Mike!)
Register here with our friends at Levine Cancer Institute

Cheryl's Wellness Wisdom
May 13th 6PM - 7:30PM
This LiveLung zoom event supports our lung cancer survivors.  
Time: May 13, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Contact Cheryl at cheryl@windriverservices.org for the zoom login link to join the meeting.

Bloom and Bling - Saddle Viewing
Saturday May 15th 10am - 4PM (drop in)
See all the saddles for the online auction supporting a local mental health support using equine therapy.
FENCES, Tryon, NC

Lunch with a Doc
Rest and Sleep and your Well-Being
May 20th, 12PM - 1PM
Register here with our friends at Levine Cancer Institute

Advocacy Summit by Lung Cancer Initiative NC
May 21
Lots of great speakers including Dr. Chasse Bailey-Dorton!
Register

Wind River Kitchen Time with Cheryl via ZOOM
Friday, May 28, 6:30PM - 7:45PM
Hidden Treasures Summer Smoothies
Register here

24 Hours of Booty - Virtual Summer Time Fun
Join Wind River's Team!  
July 30-31

Wind River Lung Cancer Survivor Retreat (Virtual with in-person meeting options)
Save the Date
August 7th. (Optional in-person Meet Up)
August 19 - August 22 (Virtual Retreat)
​

WHERE UNICORNS ROAM AND
MERMAIDS SPLASH FREELY

This Saturday will be a art show including a saddle painted by Amber Blackwood and Shannon Carney for an auction supporting a mental health charity called The Equine Journey.  See all the saddles painted in person this Saturday May 15, 2021 10am - 4pm at FENCE's, 3381 Hunting Country Rd, Tryon, NC 28782.  Or visit the Online auction on Mon May 17th - 19th.  (here is the link to the ONLINE AUTION details).

​

And for More about this saddle, enjoy this story about the saddle artists below!

This dynamic duo combines the talents of two creative women who met because of cancer but who became friends because of a connection of the heart!  They met through Wind River 3 years ago, and this saddle project has brought them both so many healing and giddy moments, all while Amber is in chemotherapy treatments. 

They worked on the saddle together,  first on the design at Amber’s home in Kings Mountain, and then painting it at Shannon’s home in Green Creek, NC where they were inspired by the lush colors of spring in the foothills.

Amber is a retired art teacher and also has been a guest art teacher with Wind River’s survivors.  Her creativity is endless! With a BS in Art Therapy and a dance minor, more recently Amber has been playing with less traditional art mediums such as alcohol inks and acrylic paint pouring; but will always return to drawing, collage painting and jewelry making. “My belief is that everyone can benefit from the Arts. (Visual, performance, culinary, etc.) It is in artistic pursuits that we can find our true selves.”

Shannon came to art later in life but has had a crazy bend for being creative in most of her endeavors.  A survivor herself, Shannon shares, “I love to paint from an intuitive place, guided not by a design but by how the painting unfolds layer by layer.  Life is similar it is truly a journey of the mind and heart.”

Amber is known to her family and friends as the last remaining unicorn.  Shannon is known for her sparkle, like that of a colorful mermaid.  Hence the inspiration for our painting and title!