Year in review, or looking ahead?

Happy New Year dear friends. This is the Barnes' holiday letter or Our Year in Review. 
Perhaps a more accurate title, however, would be: 2015--Looking ahead. 

For me (Gail) most of the first part of the year was spent working on the final stages of Measures of Success. Collaborating with my co-authors (Brian Balmages, Carrie Lane Gruselle and Michael Trowbridge) on the viola, cello and bass books (the violin book was released at Midwest). I traveled to Michigan, Charleston, Texas and Kentucky to promote the book. Greg continued with teaching a class at USC, supervising student teachers, writing concert reviews and daily gym visits. 

At the close of the semester, we were able to spend a week in Hilton Head, de-compressing from the school year. In June, we went to DC, both to see our family (daughter Alison, husband John and our three granddaughters) but also to meet up with our long-time Italian friends, Annamaria, her husband Carlo and son Giacomo. Equally fun, they visited us in South Carolina and were able to meet my sister, plus my dad and his wife Marge. 

The rest of the summer was pretty low key. I worked a great deal on my courses, trying to streamline and put as many supplementary materials online as I could. My co-authors and I worked hard on the Teachers' Manual for our book (Greg helped with this a LOT). We had the delight of having our youngest granddaughter, Julia, visit with us a few days.

The school year had a very smooth start, due to the time I put in over the summer and also because the String Project is fortunate enough to have a very capable graduate assistant (Katie Holaway) who took care of many of the start-up tasks. Shortly after the start of the semester, I went in for one of the tests that women do not love and got a shock. 

On  Sept 12, I was diagnosed with stage zero DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ) (mammographer was certain, but it was confirmed on September 15 with results of the biopsy). The biopsy was followed by an MRI and genetic testing (tested negative for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutation--a good thing.) The surgeon thought lumpectomy was an option but it would have taken a good size chunk out of my not-massive anatomy. I chose mastectomy (with simultaneous reconstruction) based on gut feeling, not wanting the follow-up radiation and because it seemed more definitive. 

On October 13, I had the surgery (removal of the tissue and subsequent reconstruction). I was in the hospital for two nights. There was no lymph node 'involvement' and my only follow up treatment is five years of Anastrozole (Arimedex), an aromatase inhibitor. 

I had wonderful support. Greg was by my side every minute (spending both nights in the hospital). My sister stayed at our house until daughter Alison was able to come for a few days. All of them accompanied me on short, leisurely walks around our neighborhood on the most beautiful autumn afternoons I have ever seen. I couldn't figure out if October and early November were particularly beautiful or if I was just able to see it instead of being inside working! 



We have wonderful friends and colleagues who helped with food for several weeks. 
Katie H. took good care of the String Project and Greg taught my undergraduate class and String Project orchestra. My good friend and colleague Wendy Valerio helped with my graduate class. 

I did and do consider myself lucky, but have recently had feelings of loss and sadness, probably delayed because I was so busy first in preparing for the surgery and subsquently, in the healing. Breast cancer has always been a specter in our family because of the too early death of Greg's first wife and Alison's birth mother, Sandra. When I was diagnosed, I felt terrible that Greg would have to go through this again. He put a stop to that, saying this was about me and no one else. We did take heart in the fact that Sandra endured the disease over 40 years ago and there have been many strides in the treatment of breast cancer since then. My two coping mechanisms were staying busy and maintaining a sense of humor. 

I was very impressed, grateful and reassured by the medical team. I give thanks to the mammographer' who presented the scenario to me in such a matter of fact way that I never feared for my survival. The month between diagnosis and surgery was an extremely long 30 days but, in retrospect, it was scheduled very quickly. DCIS can (allegedly) lie dormant for many years, but obviously no one wants to be the test case for seeing what happens if you leave it. One of the String Project adult students, Lindsay Cone, recommended both surgeons to me. Greg and I particularly bonded with the plastic surgeon, Dr. Friedman, who had gone to the High School of the Performing Arts in NY! Even though he was a pianist, he was required to take another instrument and had for a time played viola! After the surgery, Dr. Friedman had me come in an average of twice a week to monitor my recovery. 

After about three weeks, several people asked if I was going stir crazy. Because I am so task oriented, I understood this but the truth was, I wasn't. 
#1--I didn't have any stamina (after almost three months, I still get tired). 
#2--it was an opportunity for me to learn how to relax. 

Our time in Columbia has been dominated by the feverish climb on the tenure and promotion ladder and with my promotion two years ago, I could let work go for a few weeks. Once the pain was gone, I watched a lot of streaming TV and read books. I slept 9 hours every night and had 1-2 hour naps every day. 

This week, however, I'm feeling sad because there's finally time and energy to process what happened to me. I also wonder about having the right to feel sad because so many women (including my sister-in-law and cousin) have had far more serious cases. I feel I got off easy because I didn't have to have radiation or chemo. But, this case happened to me and it will be part of my story for the rest of my life. I encourage all my female friends to never skip a mammogram. I never would have felt my cancer and they were able to detect it because they could compare with over 20 years of films on file. 

I also have a degree of anger. October was a tough month to be waiting for the surgery because of the 'pink-washing' of the disease. Pink used to be my favorite color but now. . . not so much. All of us know someone who has been diagnosed. Is there an epidemic or greater diagnosis? What environmental factors are contributing to this and to other cancers? I would encourage those who are interested to investigate this organization http://www.bcaction.org

Finally, I'm also feeling happy. In 2015, I will travel to Georgia, Utah, Pennsylvania and Florida for work. I will work with my co-authors on volume 2 of Measures of Success. Greg and I will visit with our granddaughters every chance we get because they are growing up too fast. For example: 

2002

2013

In June, Greg and I are taking a trip that includes Barcelona, a river cruise in France and ending with a few days in Paris. We've had a rich travel life, but a French river cruise has been on the wish list for a long time and we are not going to put it off any longer. 

One of my friends (Ellen Schlaefer) brought us Chinese food during my first weeks of recuperation and with it, came this fortune. I count it as a good omen. 

I couldn't have described 2014 without including the fall chapter. If you made it all the way through, thanks for reading.  We are indeed fortunate to have you as a friend. 

Gail and Greg

p.s. 2015 will surely be a year of miracles. If Ohio State can beat Alabama, anything can happen :)