PORTLAND’S QUILTED NORTHERN SOFT & STRONG® CHAMPION – ANN BISGYER WOLZ

Ann Bisgyer Wolz is an admired Susan G. Komen volunteer with the Oregon & Washington affiliate. For Ann, volunteering with Komen has been the icing on the cake and she's managed Komen's Health Expo for the past three years. Below is Ann's story.

"I am 54 years old, married to an amazing man and we have a husky, malamute dog that runs our lives!

Breast cancer came into my life in 1993. I was diagnosed with stage II, had two lumpectomies, chemotherapy and radiation - and then resumed my daily life.

After passing my two and then five-year mark, I thought I was moving forward and happy to have breast cancer as a part of my past. However, in October of 2000, I heard the words most breast cancer patients dread. I had a reoccurrence, a tumor under my arm and the cancer had metastasized to my bones.

In 2000, there was not a lot of information about metastatic disease and books were telling us I had 18 to 24 months to live. The head of breast oncology at Sloane Kettering told me there was no cure and not to plan a long life. I felt lost and was trying to hold on to an unknown. Scared doesn't begin to describe how I felt.

Well, we got rid of those books and I decided it was time to beat the odds. I have been living with metastatic cancer for eight years!

Treatment plans have varied over the years. With all the research Komen has done, there are constantly new drugs and treatment options available. With these, Komen has helped change the concept of breast cancer.

Komen has also put faces to the disease. When I am in a room with women, I look around and remember the statistic that one in eight women in that room will have breast cancer. Though too many have died of this disease, it does not have to be a death sentence. I don't want my nieces to have to face what I did.

Having cancer does bring a new perspective to one's life. I have lost my hair seven times and have learned that in the big scheme of things - what's a little hair? It's my family and friends who have created a world of support that helps me get out of bed every day and face the world.

As I continue to battle this disease I want people to know that while I hope it never comes back, it's not the end. I am planning on a longer life than the Sloan Kettering expert or anyone for that matter originally thought. The diagnosis of metastatic cancer is not pretty but winning the fight is what's truly sweet.

I have continued to live my life to the fullest. I tell myself that I have cancer - it does not have me."

Georgia Pacific is proud to call Ann Bisgyer Wolz a Quilted Northern Soft & Strong® Champion.