Spotlight

“My name is Cindy and I am a middle school counselor. I’ve been a middle school counselor for about 20 years. July 11th, I went to get my annual mammogram after they harassed me very often, because I hate doing it. And that same afternoon they called me and said that I needed to get another one done at the bigger place or whatever. That’s when I went and did a self exam and felt it and was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ And the 15th it was confirmed, cancer was confirmed.”

“At first I was going to have a double mastectomy and then a reconstruction on the same day and then they found it in my lymph nodes, which put me in a whole different level.”

“My options were to still do the bilateral mastectomy and then a full lymphectomy, which has lots of side effects. And they were still going to have to do the chemo and radiation. It didn’t make sense to me to do that. I decided to go with the mastectomy. Probably the hardest part for me was my first chemo because going in the room, it was like, ‘Holy crap, this is really happening to me.’ I just kept thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is me.’ And then the nurse started talking to me about all the side effects and I was having a really hard time holding it together. Thankfully, I had a friend there who was trying to keep me distracted and laughing, but that was a pretty awful day.”

“My first chemo treatment was September 27th. After the first treatment, I felt completely stone drunk. I mean the brain wasn’t talking to my fingers. I’m trying to type and there was no connection and it was just the weirdest, incredible feeling I’ve ever had before. And then the next day I got really ill. After that, I was just tired. It’s now more exhaustion, like trying to go back to the gym was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”

“Since the cancer diagnosis, because they give you so many different meds for pain and they don’t really work anyway. They just make it a little easier to tolerate. But the CBD and cannabis gave me general pain relief. It’s absurd to even say that, but it’s true. Cannabis is also what kept me from being a skeleton. I completely lost my appetite probably from the surgery, and then it got worse as the treatments became bigger deal. I’d lost a lot of weight and like 12 pounds and that’s when I decided I was going to try either edibles or a vape pen just so I can eat. That’s really what it does.”

“I’ve been using a number of different products just to help me get through the day. One of them is the Stratos Energy, which are tablets. I was hesitant because there’s still some THC in it, but if I’m cleaning around the house or whatever. My energy level is like 50% what it was. So to be able to use something that helps me clean my house, do my laundry, it feels great.

“I’ve also been using a lot of tinctures that helped me with general pain relief. I’ve been using the Aliviar CBD 20:1, as well as Mary’s Medicinals CBD tincture. I’m always on the lookout for new products that work best for me.”

“I know it may not be the same for everyone, but this is how it’s impacted me.”

“I’ve always been a gym rat. I love being active. I love classes. I would go four to five days a week. It’s my meditation, my mantra, and I haven’t been for seven or eight weeks and today was my first day back and wow. It was exhausting. I felt like I’d never worked out in my entire life. Awesome that I finished it, made it through without passing out.”

“I’ve been to a lot of dispensaries in the years and there’s nothing that even compares to the experience that I had at Lightshade. Sometimes even going to a dispensary, I’d feel a little nervous or I don’t know, but I walk in there and I’m welcomed. I don’t feel like the stigma or anything. It’s just a really good feeling. The staff is very, not only knowledgeable, but they care. They answer any questions I have and it’s a trusting environment.”

“What I’m most looking forward to about the future? Feeling like myself again, looking like myself again, having the energy that I had before and then find out what all the blessings are that I’ve experienced as a result of this diagnosis. I truly believe every experience has growth at the end. And so that’s what I mean by that, is looking forward to what that growth for me is going to be. “

“My name is Cindy. I’m a cancer survivor and I am looking forward to the future.”