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IN THIS ISSUE
At Home in Edmond
Fall-Winter Edition
Inside!
Cabela's
now open
See Page 17
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Cover
From Page 1
would affect my psyche,
my self-image, my intimacy with my husband,
my inability to breast
feed my children.
McLean became so
adamant about getting
cancer out of her body
she was unaware there
were other factors to consider.
I could probably have
just done a lateral or a bilateral and have been ok
but you live and learn,
she said. Some women
go straight to double
mastectomy and thats
not necessary for everyone.
Although she almost
died of an overdose of
morphine following surgery, surgeons were able
to remove all the cancer
allowing McLean to
forego chemotherapy
and radiation.
The seeds for educating other women about
their options were
planted.
I just really felt like
God gave me a purpose
to speak to the lives of
other women on this
journey because one in
eight women is going to
get breast cancer, she
said. Not everyone
wants to step into this
role because its ugly and
messy and painful.
Following reconstruction of her breasts,
McLean was told it
would be wise not to
have children for two
years to allow her body
to heal.
My son, Colin, was
born on Thanksgiving
Day of 2004 and six
months later I was pregnant with my daughter,
Tatum, who was born on
St. Patricks Day, she
said.
McLean said she felt
much emotional trauma
but being an introvert,
she had a hard time articulating to her husband.
I didnt know how to
get my words out as easy
as he does so we started
hitting this wall where we
were conflicted, she
said. He was trying to
help me and I didnt
know how he could.
Steve McLean found a
counselor, also a cancer
survivor, who helped
them put some of the
pieces back together
again.
Most people think
once you get cancer out
of your body, life will go
back to normal and thats
not how it works, she
said. Theres a new normal that you have to
Sarah and
Steve
McLean
have seen
many
challenges.
find.
She asked me if I had
allowed myself the time
to grieve the loss of my
breasts because its like
the loss of a loved one,
she said. I had been
going through the roller
coaster of grief and I just
thought I was crazy. She
validated my emotions.
In 2007, the McLeans
established Project31, a
5013, and started raising money for families
that needed financial assistance for counseling.
We called it Project31
after Proverbs 31:30
which begins Charm is
deceptive, and beauty is
fleeting she said. I
was like, yes, the feminine part of my body
was taken because in my
mind the beauty was
gone but God started to
show me and restore me
by asking where does
your true beauty come
from.
In 2010, McLean was
approached by Oklahoma Breast Care Center,
where she was diagnosed, to lead support
groups for breast cancer
patients.
A friend of mine on
our board joined me and
it was evident there was
a need because 20
women showed up the
first night, she said. We
made it a place of hope
and encouragement. We
wanted to equip and empower women to walk
this journey.
McLean had continued
regular self-exams and in
2011 felt something new
on her skeletal wall that
she hoped was scar tissue.
It was like Deja-vu
and after a punch biopsy
they called me and she
says Im sorry, but its
cancer again, but its not
the same one, and at
this point I was familiar
with all the terms but
was scared for my kids,
McLean said.
She underwent surgery
to remove the tumor but
developed an infection,
which took a long time
to heal, following it all
with radiation that gave
her third-degree burns.
For the next two years
McLean monitored the