Stacey Rothfarb is the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Temple Terrace's 2013 Honorary Chair. A first grade teacher at Folsom Elementary School in the Hillsborough Country School District, Stacey states that, "Teaching has always been my dream and I get to live that dream every day!" Stacey's story about her courage and fight with cancer is below.
"In March 2012 I went for a mammography because I thought I felt a lump in my right breast. To my surprise the lump I felt was nothing, but the mammography and ultra sound showed a cluster of calcifications that the radiologist was extremely concerned about. 6 days later I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in the right breast. After meeting with the breast surgeon, Dr. Jon Cox it was determined that the cancer I had was very aggressive and located very close to my chest wall. I was to receive chemotherapy before my surgery to shrink and hopefully make the cancer cells disappear. 2 days later I met with Dr. David Wright, my Oncologist and was in surgery having a chemo port placed and my lymph node biopsy. I started my first round of chemotherapy on April 5, 2012, 2 weeks after my diagnosis. After 6 Chemotherapy treatments and horrible reactions to chemo which caused me to miss many weeks of work I had my last treatment on July 19, 2012. 3 weeks later it was determined through MRI that I had a complete response to Chemotherapy and there were no cancer cells visible any longer. My next hurdle was a Bilateral Mastectomy on August 28, 2012 and reconstruction surgery on December 19, 2012
I have been a Relayer for over 7 years both here and in NY with most of my time being spent with the Temple Terrace Relay. I always relayed in honor of my mother in law and aunt who are both breast cancer survivors and in memory of my grandfather. This year I am relaying in honor of my husband, children, parents, sister, family,friends, co workers and students who never lost faith that I would win this fight. I am Relaying in honor of the women I sat next to in the Chemotherapy room who shared their courageous stories of hope and survival with me. I am Relaying in memory of those who have lost their fight with the awful disease, but most importantly I am Relaying for myself and to recognize my AMAZING medical team, Theresa Winsey, Dr. Katherine Reed, Dr. Jon Cox, Dr. David Wright and Dr. Wayne Lee with their constant love, care, support, and unwavering dedication I am going to live to see my children graduate from college, walk down the aisle, grow old with my husband and enjoy my grandchildren."
We all have someone or some personal reason of why we Relay and Stacey's courage and positive attitude show that Relay works! Please consider joining a team or supporting a friend in this fight and help us celebrate more birthdays. Our upcoming FUNdraiser is the Relay for Life Yard Sale on April 13 from 7 AM - 1 PM at Terrace Sports Bowling, 5311 E. Busch Blvd. in Temple Terrace. Join us at Relay for Life Temple Terrace on April 26-27 from 6 PM to noon at Greco Middle School track. The public is welcome to walk in honor or memory of their loved ones and the Luminaria Ceremony begins at 9 PM. For more information on how you can be a part of Relay for Life Temple Terrace, contact ACS staff partner Lauren Oliver at 813.319.5918 or lauren.oliver@cancer.org