Hilary Bruce Saltzman is my sister, my best friend, the mother of Phin (9) and Charlotte (6), and wife to Charles. She was having pain in her abdomen. She thought maybe she strained a muscle or pulled something and asked my husband, an Internist, what he thought. His first thought was gallbladder, given the location of the pain, and recommended blood work and a sonogram. The next morning, Friday, November 15, 2013 she went in for a sonogram. The next week was more scans, a liver biopsy, and all signs pointed to Pancreatic Cancer. Metastatic, Stage 4, Pancreatic Cancer. (This diagnosis got changed to Bile Duct Cancer with no primary tumor ever found) Seriously!!!! At the age of 44, my healthy sister not only has cancer, but a devastating cancer. Hilary is the one who only buys non-toxic sunscreens for her family, cleans and launders with the stuff that is “safe” but maybe doesn’t get the stains out quite as well, has been buying organic long before I could justify the extra cost. How could this be possible?
So our cancer journey begins… From the bottom of my heart I have love, light and lots of HOPE.
HOPE is the thing
with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune
Without the words,
And never stops at all. -Emily Dickenson
“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ” ~Christopher Reeve
From the moment Hilary reached out to family and friends for help you have all been there. Having family and friends along the way makes all the difference.
With Love, Becca