Here's What's Hot On CBS11TV.COM:
Nov 9, 2009 10:00 pm US/Central
North Texas Mom Battles The Breast Cancer Odds
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
CBS 11 News first met Leah Siegel eight months ago. At the time, she'd been enduring what were arguably six of the most difficult months of her life. She told CBS 11 at the time, "The tumor markers are up. It's not a good sign. It's just like this whole thing has been, there's nothing I can do and it's so frustrating. There's very little within my control."
Siegel had been diagnosed with aggressive, stage-four breast cancer just days after the delivery of her third child. She was given only two to four years to live.
Now, 15 months after her diagnosis, you'd be hard-pressed to find Leah having a down day. She's still battling cancer and her life is full of the kinds of turmoil that come with raising three children under five years old. But Siegel is embracing every bit of it. "I have energy. I don't feel sick," she said. "Which I never really did before the cancer either."
The best news: she feels great and her cancer isn't growing. "I started a clinical trial in May and I've been stable ever since, and I feel good. I feel absolutely normal so I can't complain."
The clinical trial combines an anti-estrogen drug with a drug that's used to treat Leukemia. The hope is the second drug will prevent the cancer from becoming resistant to her current therapy. "If nothing else, this has bought me five months. And if this continues for a year or two it's awesome. It's a year or two I don't have to go to the next step."
Leah is so enthusiastic about the lab results that the word "stable" has a new meaning for her. But, not a day goes by that she's able to forget she has cancer. "That for me is the most difficult struggle, is just getting used to having it, and really trying to, not forget about it, but do my day to day stuff without thinking about it."
She still regularly visits
Gilda's Club in Dallas where she gets encouragement from fellow breast cancer patients. Leah's able to vent about such things as the one year anniversary of her diagnosis, which for her wasn't a day for toasting. "I did not celebrate my one year anniversary, and when you're stage-four you don't. It's not the same as 'oh yeah, I made it one year isn't that great.' When you're stage-four, it's more of a deduction and I sort of wanted to ignore it."
But Leah wouldn't be Leah if she didn't find the bright spot through the gloom. "If this is stage-four cancer, it's okay. Now maybe down the road it's not going to be as fun or as fabulous, but for now it's really not stopping me from doing much."
It certainly didn't stop her from taking part in this year's Dallas Komen Race for the Cure. She and her crew of 40 that make up "Team Leah" finished not only the one mile race, but the 5K as well.
Finishing the race is more evidence that Leah isn't letting the cancer slow her down.
As for her prognosis of two-four years? Leah doesn't believe it for a minute. "I don't see myself writing letters yet or buying birthday cards for them [her children] when they're 16. I'll just do that when they're 16, you know?"
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
CBS Mobile Launches Local News iPhone Apps
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments