I took an introductory web site class last year with Dr. Westfall at Cal Poly Pomona. He had never taught the intro class before and, due to budget cuts, has never taught the class since. Initially, I had wanted to take the class so I could write about my frustrations with the lack of treatment for ACC. I also wanted to reach others who were going through the same situation. Being diagnosed and feeling you are the only one with a rare cancer is very distressing. Aside from surgery, there is no proven treatment for ACC to keep it from coming back. Maybe if more of us banded together we could change the treatment of ACC.
I will always be grateful for Dr. Westfall’s dedication in getting my story published in the newspaper. He wrote to several people at Cal Poly but I don’t think they were interested. Uyen Mai, a Cal Poly spokesperson, sent the story to Lisa McPheron, an education reporter, at the Daily Bulletin. Lisa emailed me a few days ago about doing a story on me. We met last Wednesday night at a café to talk about my experience with cancer, outreach and support. This morning I woke up with an uneasy feeling. What will be written? Who will read it? I hope people don’t feel pity because that is the very last thing I would ever want. My younger sister called at 5 am this morning saying she bought two copies. I held my breath. She continued to read it and then said, “Oh my God!” I asked, “What?” She answered, “They mention your age, like, ten times.” I'm not that old! It was her way of saying that I worried for nothing.The newspaper has the heading, Web of Hope, along with two photos of me and my students in the classroom. I am very happy with the article. I called Lisa to thank her and even stopped by to drop off a Christmas gift. She declined because of the Bulletin's ethics policy. Thank you to Dr. Westfall, Uyen, Lisa and Therese.
Read the web article here. Happy Holidays!
