Nordie's at Noon (1 of 2 free samples)

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COPYRIGHT
Nordie's at Noon by Balwanz Carlos Johnson Peters. Copyright 2006 by NaNoon, LLC.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing not permitted.

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NORDIE'S AT NOON
The Personal Stories of Four Women "Too Young" for Breast Cancer

Patti Balwanz
Kim Carlos
Jennifer Johnson
Jana Peters


Nordie's at Noon is dedicated to
Patti Balwanz and Jana Peters--our friends,
sisters, co-authors, and inspirations.

Jen and Kim


FOREWORD BY DR. AMIE JEW
http://www.dailylit.com/books/nordies-at-noon/foreword


PREFACE: BOSOM BUDDIES

It all began at "Nordie's," the trendy café in the Nordstrom department store. There, the four of us would meet for lunch the last Tuesday of each month. The luncheons appeared on our e-mail calendars, pocket PCs, and day planners as recurring Nordie's at Noon ("NaNoon") appointments. Like any group of young lunching women, we talked about our latest career moves, the men in our lives and, if we had them, our children and their escapades. But unlike other women our age, our conversations eventually turned to more serious issues: issues our "non-breast cancer friends" could not have imagined.

Our NaNoon luncheons began as a party of two, Patti and Jana, who met each other at their oncology clinic while getting monthly infusions of chemotherapy. The two instantly became "chemo friends." After all, Patti was only twenty-four years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Jana was twenty-seven, so the two had a lot in common!

The duo became a trio after Jana ran into her high school acquaintance, Jen, at a breast cancer survivors' luncheon. Incredibly, Jen, too, had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of twenty-seven.

Less than a year later, the party of three expanded to four, when Patti learned that her college sorority sister, Kim, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of thirty. Kim eagerly joined our monthly luncheons for the hope, camaraderie, and support they could provide.

Patti was the youngest in our group and our only singleton. Tall, athletic, and slim, she would stride into Nordie's wearing the latest in casual business wear. She always looked the very model of today's bright young career woman. As a consultant for a large IT firm, she kept her nose to the grindstone at work. But after work and at our lunches, her wide smile and humorous "Patti-isms" often had us laughing hysterically. Independent and determined, Patti lived life to its fullest and refused to let breast cancer slow her down. Her priorities were family, friends, church, and career; but right through her treatments, she continued her search for Mr. Right.

Jana, the oldest in this young group, was the first to be diagnosed. "Jana Banana," as we called her, packed a lot of energy in her five-foot-two-inch frame. She was all girl when it came to jewelry, purses, and shoes. On weekends, though, her tom-boy side emerged as she pursued her constant goal of "getting in shape." Jana talked incessantly, and never took herself too seriously. Yet she was always serious and committed to her profession as a clinical researcher and to her volunteer work. While juggling ideas for her upcoming wedding, she also became a "walking brochure" of facts and stats about breast cancer.

Tall and slender, Jen carried herself with a polished, classic style even while pregnant. She had a smile as wide as Julia Roberts's and an upbeat sense of humor that saw the glass as "half full" in nearly every situation. The rest of us were in awe of the organized way she juggled multiple commitments to family, friends, career, church, and volunteer work. Her optimistic attitude, coupled with a willingness to listen, made her the kind of friend whom others treasure. It was only as we got to know her that she admitted to feeling a little off-balance sometimes as she tried hard to please everyone else in her life.

Kim was a whirlwind of energy; she had so much self-confidence that she looked as if she could run circles around any big-city woman. Actually, she was from a rural town and had married her high school sweetheart. We teased her about being chronically late, but it was only, she would protest, because there was much she wanted to accomplish. She called herself a "recovering attorney" who had left her law firm after cancer so that she could start her own public affairs and motivational speaking business through which she could empower others. She considered herself lucky to be pursuing work she felt truly passionate about. We called her our "sexy professional" because of her clothing style. Of all of the Nordie Girls, Kim was the most open and free in sharing her story and all its details.

So there we were--four women in our twenties and early thirties; each at a different phase of life when diagnosed, and each at a different stage of treatment when we met. But our common bond was ever present: a sense that life is a precious gift and that maybe our affliction was a blessing in disguise because it made us appreciate life all the more. Our time together at Nordie's was therapeutic. When no one else could possibly understand what it was like to walk around with a "fake boob" or to go through breast reconstruction, we were there for each other. A special sisterhood was formed, and we eagerly looked forward to our time together.

In addition to sharing a breast cancer diagnosis, we were extremely driven, compassionate women on a mission to educate others about our disease and to make a positive difference in thousands of lives. The cliché "If I help just one person by sharing my story . . ." was not acceptable to any of us. We wanted to do more. After getting to know one another as friends and becoming literal "bosom buddies," the idea for this book began to percolate. We had all been disappointed with the lack of information available to us as young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, so we wanted to share our experiences. We felt that other young women and their friends and families could benefit from what we had learned. So, Nordie's at Noon was born.

In order to share each of our perspectives on our breast cancer journeys, every Nordie's at Noon chapter features an introductory discussion in the setting of a Nordie's luncheon, followed by our individual perspectives and personal stories.

It is our greatest desire that readers will be empowered to be proactive with their health and lives, and that they will realize what we were surprised to learn ourselves: No one is "too young" for breast cancer.

Patti, Jana, Jen, and Kim

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