Check It Out!

There have been a few amazing articles on the first Crush Cancer Clinic, so please check them out!

The Star Ledger - article by Eunice Lee
      Now She's Shutting Out Cancer

The Patch - article by Teresa Akersten
    Survivor to Run 'Crush Cancer Clinic'

The 1st Crush Cancer Clinic @ Caldwell College

If you are interested in having a Crush Cancer Clinic, email me (Kristen) at crushcancerclinic@gmail.com

Thank you for all of the wonderful support - and a huge thank you to Desi Giordano who played a huge part in the first Crush Cancer Clinic! Thank you to Emilyrose Havrilla and Jill Del Pozzo for helping coach, and Caldwell College and Vero Amici for their generous donations!

The Details

This softball clinic will include instruction on hitting, infield and outfield, from 2 All-State athletes, Kristen Schindler and Desi Giordano.

It is open to girls of all ages!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

When? January 21st, 10am-1pm

Where? Student Center Gym at Caldwell College

How do you sign up? Email Kristen Schindler at crushcancerclinic@gmail.com with name and age or participants

Cost? $20 minimum donation (cash or check, all checks made out to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society)

Being an Athlete with Cancer

Cancer has a way of destroying the parts of you that you define yourself by. I felt cancer destroyed my ability to push my body to do great things. I am an athlete, but my treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma sucked away most of my energy. I played softball in college, and have invested years upon years into my athletic career. It took only six months of chemotherapy for my body to lose most of the muscle and endurance I had built up over 12 years.

I had expected to struggle physically while I went through treatment. And I even planned to give my body some time to recover once my treatement had ended. However, I was shocked when three months out of treatment, my energy had not bounced back according to the three month timeline my doctor had given me.

This process of rebuilding muscle, strength, and lung capacity, is anger producing and depressing at times. It is a constant comparison to the pre-cancer me. I am unsure if I will ever be the athlete I was before and I do not have time to train and workout like I did when I was in college. I am terrified that my body will never fully recover from cancer, and my athletic ability is the most glaring indication of that.

I have slowly learned to give myself a break, and relish in my small accomplishments. I still want more, but I am realizing I am in the midst of moving forward. Cancer temporarily took away certain self defining characteristics, but my drive and ambition to be better and push myself is one characteristic that has not been altered.

This post was originally published on EverythingChangesBook.com back in September. I was working with Kairol Rosenthal, author of Everything Changes: The Insider's Guide to Cancer in Your 20's and 30's.