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Meet Christine!
Every Monday, we feature a local mom on TriangleMom2Mom.
For the next three weeks leading up to the Race for the Cure on June 14, we'll spotlight three local moms who have survived breast cancer. Go here to find out more about our Mom2Mom team.
Today, we hear from Christine DesVergers.
MOM2MOM: Tell us about yourself.
Christine: I am 35 years old and I live in Cary with my husband, Matt, and two children, Will (8) and Connor (6). I am a stay at home mom. I volunteer weekly at my children’s school, I volunteer for our church, and this year I became a Komen Triangle Affiliate volunteer. My husband and I both graduated from NC State.
At age 31, when my children were 4 years old and 2 years old (4 years ago this summer) I found a lump
in my breast and was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. When I was diagnosed, they found that my cancer had already spread to my bones. I immediately began an aggressive treatment plan, despite the fact that most doctors told me I would never be “cured” and my odds of surviving 5 years were not good. I had numerous rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, weekly radiation treatments and in the summer of 2005 underwent high dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant in Houston, Texas. I have had no evidence of cancer for the last three years!
Though I feel great and I am back to normal with all of my activities, my fight is far from over. I am scanned and tested several times a year, and the reality is that until we have a cure, I honestly do not know what is in my future. I participate in the Komen Race as a team captain, a team member, a Komen volunteer, and a survivor, to bring awareness to our community about this deadly disease.
The last three years have been a gift to my family, a gift of hope. And we are trying hard to give that hope back to others. By participating in the Race for the Cure, we are showing our support for all the women in our area affected by breast cancer. There are so many who can’t be at the race, who don’t have support, and who need a voice and a cure. We are all someone’s mother, wife, sister, or friend. Breast cancer touches all of us. We ALL need a world without breast cancer!
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite family place in the Triangle?
Christine: The Durham Museum of Life and Science. My children love the inside exhibits and the animals outside.
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite place for yourself in the Triangle?
Christine: My favorite place for myself in the Triangle (besides TJ Maxx or any department store!) is Panera Bread at Crossroads. I love their food and I love to meet my girlfriends there for lunch or coffee!
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite ritual with your kids?
Christine: My son loves construction and as a way to spend time together and teach him about helping others, he and I would stay up on Sunday nights and watch Home Extreme Makeover together. Our ritual soon became a family ritual.
MOM2MOM: What did you eat last night? Can you share the recipe?
Christine: Last night we ate spaghetti, as we usually do at least once a week. It’s the one meal everyone agrees on, plus it’s an easy dinner between baseball and gymnastics!
MOM2MOM: Care to share your guilty pleasure?
Christine: I admit it; my guilty pleasure is a glass of red wine and a piece of chocolate. Can’t live without them once in a while! However, with all that life has thrown at us, I don’t usually feel too guilty!
Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:
MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!
WEEKEND: Relax!
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
Sarah is in charge of content for TriangleMom2Mom.com and writes about family-friendly events, local moms groups and other topics for the site.
She lives in Raleigh with her
husband and three-year-old daughter. Sarah has written for newspapers
since she was a teenager living in snowy Central New York. After
graduating from the University of Virginia, she traipsed a bit around
Europe and Mount Airy, N.C., before settling down in the Triangle. She
moved here in 1999 to take a job with The News & Observer. She once aspired to play
flute professionally. More recently, her daughter started crying when
she played it.
Read more about:
Every Monday, we feature a local mom on TriangleMom2Mom.
For the next three weeks leading up to the Race for the Cure on June 14, we'll spotlight three local moms who have survived breast cancer. Go here to find out more about our Mom2Mom team.
Today, we hear from Christine DesVergers.
MOM2MOM: Tell us about yourself.
Christine: I am 35 years old and I live in Cary with my husband, Matt, and two children, Will (8) and Connor (6). I am a stay at home mom. I volunteer weekly at my children’s school, I volunteer for our church, and this year I became a Komen Triangle Affiliate volunteer. My husband and I both graduated from NC State.
At age 31, when my children were 4 years old and 2 years old (4 years ago this summer) I found a lump in my breast and was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. When I was diagnosed, they found that my cancer had already spread to my bones. I immediately began an aggressive treatment plan, despite the fact that most doctors told me I would never be “cured” and my odds of surviving 5 years were not good. I had numerous rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, weekly radiation treatments and in the summer of 2005 underwent high dose chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant in Houston, Texas. I have had no evidence of cancer for the last three years!
Though I feel great and I am back to normal with all of my activities, my fight is far from over. I am scanned and tested several times a year, and the reality is that until we have a cure, I honestly do not know what is in my future. I participate in the Komen Race as a team captain, a team member, a Komen volunteer, and a survivor, to bring awareness to our community about this deadly disease.
The last three years have been a gift to my family, a gift of hope. And we are trying hard to give that hope back to others. By participating in the Race for the Cure, we are showing our support for all the women in our area affected by breast cancer. There are so many who can’t be at the race, who don’t have support, and who need a voice and a cure. We are all someone’s mother, wife, sister, or friend. Breast cancer touches all of us. We ALL need a world without breast cancer!
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite family place in the Triangle?
Christine: The Durham Museum of Life and Science. My children love the inside exhibits and the animals outside.
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite place for yourself in the Triangle?
Christine: My favorite place for myself in the Triangle (besides TJ Maxx or any department store!) is Panera Bread at Crossroads. I love their food and I love to meet my girlfriends there for lunch or coffee!
MOM2MOM: What's your favorite ritual with your kids?
Christine: My son loves construction and as a way to spend time together and teach him about helping others, he and I would stay up on Sunday nights and watch Home Extreme Makeover together. Our ritual soon became a family ritual.
MOM2MOM: What did you eat last night? Can you share the recipe?
Christine: Last night we ate spaghetti, as we usually do at least once a week. It’s the one meal everyone agrees on, plus it’s an easy dinner between baseball and gymnastics!
MOM2MOM: Care to share your guilty pleasure?
Christine: I admit it; my guilty pleasure is a glass of red wine and a piece of chocolate. Can’t live without them once in a while! However, with all that life has thrown at us, I don’t usually feel too guilty!
Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:
MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!
WEEKEND: Relax!
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
Sarah is in charge of content for TriangleMom2Mom.com and writes about family-friendly events, local moms groups and other topics for the site.
She lives in Raleigh with her husband and three-year-old daughter. Sarah has written for newspapers since she was a teenager living in snowy Central New York. After graduating from the University of Virginia, she traipsed a bit around Europe and Mount Airy, N.C., before settling down in the Triangle. She moved here in 1999 to take a job with The News & Observer. She once aspired to play flute professionally. More recently, her daughter started crying when she played it.
Read more about:
