Jacki Donaldson

Health Interests

Breast Cancer,  Chemotherapy,  Radiation

Drugs I am Taking

Jacki Donaldson has not shared any drug information.

About Me

I am not always a patient person. I like instant gratification. I like to see the fruits of my labors right away and I get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. I am queen of the 20-minute project. I start something – a craft, a scrapbook project, a decorating feat – and I want it finished as quickly as possible and in good form too. I am also a bit of a whiner. I get crabby when I’m hungry and cranky when I’m hot and I really do not respond well to sleep deprivation. Those who know me well are aware of these well-developed character traits. They laugh about them. I do too. But in serious times, I tend to doubt my abilities to step up to the plate. My loved ones sometimes share this doubt. After I delivered my first son five years ago, my mom and sister – who were in the delivery room with me – revealed that they really weren’t sure I had the mental toughness to have a baby. Surprise. I was tough enough. I had a 10-pound, nine-ounce baby boy without a C-section and with the aid of a vacuum and a large episiotomy. I never screamed and shed only a few tears and even went on to have another big baby boy – 10 pounds and two ounces the second time around. So I’ve learned that I do have what it takes to conquer tough times. And I’ve decided that it’s the little things that rattle me. When the big things come my way, I rise to the occasion and leave my impatience and whining behind.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2004 at the age of 34 and have been in treatment ever since. I had a lumpectomy to remove one tumor (1.1 cm) and four lymph nodes (no spread was detected). I received four treatments of dose-dense chemotherapy (given every two weeks instead of three) with the drugs Adriamycin and Cytoxan. I was hospitalized twice after my last dose of chemo due to fever and low blood counts and received a blood transfusion while in the hospital the first time so that my blood could recover from its chemotherapy attack. Both times, I was secluded in a private hospital room where my bald head, masks, and traveling IV pole gave me the appearance of an alien – or so my son Joey told me. My next stop was radiation – every day for seven weeks – and then just as I thought I had traveled my entire treatment path, a new drug for Her2 positive women hit the scene and my trek continued. I began receiving every-three-week infusions of Herceptin in July 2005 and the last traces of this drug – that were administered over 52 weeks -- have successfully and uneventfully dripped through my veins. So the treatment leg of my journey is over. This is great -- and unsettling too. I’ve grown accustomed to the constant medical attention. I’ve been comforted – for almost two whole years -- by the active treatment of my cancer. How I will live as a survivor, on my own except for periodic check-ups, is uncertain.

But I know I can tackle this new adventure. I will continue with my counseling that helps me work through my anxieties and with my exercise routine that distracts me and makes me feel strong and with the precious times I have with my husband and children and with my writing – which really is the best therapy I have.

I began writing at Kent State University, as a college sophomore pursing a journalism degree. I wrote for the Daily Kent Stater, a daily student-run newspaper. I worked as a copy editor for the paper too and really enjoyed a magazine journalism course I took. But my journalism career was cut short when I decided to pursue a graduate program in counseling. I moved from Ohio to Florida and received my Master’s degree in Counselor Education from the University of Florida. I worked for seven years with college students and counseled them as they adjusted to living on campus. Everything from roommate conflicts to alcohol abuse to attempted suicide ruled my world until my first baby boy came tearing into the world and rivaled even the rowdiest of college students. I knew he needed my full-time attention so at home I stayed with Joey (now five) and later his brother, Danny (now three), until just recently when I began working part-time at this same baby boy’s preschool. So now I counsel – in a way – kids ages five and under. It’s quite a job. And I love it.

I also love writing. I’ve kept my skills sharp over the years by writing for college and university journals and magazines, various newsletters and most recently, authoring my own breast cancer blog (www.jackidonaldson.com) which details through words and photos my on-going travels with breast cancer.

One sister breast cancer survivor wrote to me in an e-mail just before my chemotherapy started, “Millions have come before you and millions will come after you – you are in very good company.” She is right. I have gained overwhelming strength and inspiration from those who have traveled before me. And I find great comfort in sharing my voice with those just beginning their journeys. I hope it helps them. I know it helps me.