Tracy Ruckman

Last month, Advent Health honored me by asking if I would be one of their "faces" during their "Pink Porch" campaign for Breast Awareness Month. They arranged for a photo shoot and an interview, and said I could invite anyone I wanted to be in the photos with me.  Without hesitation, I suggested Jess Bolton, my daughter-in-law, and Felicia Trawick, my nurse navigator-turned-friend. These two were with me every day of my cancer journey, either in person or by phone. God knew what I needed during that time because Jess and Felicia kept me laughing, and we're still at it, as you can tell from the photos below. The lovely and patient photographer, Emily Long, had us talk to each other, and to look at each other, and we just got silly. (Please note: these photos are the only time you'll see me NOT talking with my hands! Such a surprise to all of us!) It was a windy but fun day, and Zach, my son and Jess's husband, surprised and blessed me by coming, too.  Dur...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome author V. Ronnie Laughlin who shares her atypical breast cancer journey from the Middle East, during the pandemic. No Time to Sit and Worry As I held the specimen cup in my hand with the breast biopsy sample glistening inside; I looked at it and it looked at me. It looked like a hydra, the long tentacled invertebrate with a gelatinous body. I do not know what possessed me to ask my Radiologist,...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome Mary-Kay Cronemeyer, sharing her story as a valiant cancer warrior. I Took Back Time “Skeptical” was on the tip of my tongue and really the word I wanted to use in reply to my surgical oncologist after my biopsy, seven years ago, because that’s how I honestly felt. But I needed to sound comparatively positive to his level of confidence, so I opted for “cautiously optimistic.” Even though, in re...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome author April Whitt sharing her story as a cancer warrior. A Joyful Warrior As I begin a new season in my life, I look back over the past few years and my struggle with cancer. I consider that even though cancer has consumed much of my time, energy and thought life, it is NOT the sum of who I am. It is not even the whole of my struggle, it has even become part of my joy. My journey began back in...

When I saw a few social media posts this morning reminding me that it’s #ThankfulThursday, I decided it was time to write a long overdue letter and share it with all of you. Dear MercyMe: I’ve wanted to write this letter for a few years, but never made it a priority. But after all that’s happened, I can’t not write to you. Thank you for writing the songs you do. I know many of them are born out of your own trials and tribulations. I’m truly sorry for the pain you’ve experienced, but I’m incredibly grateful that the Lord is using you so mightily to help others through their own struggles, including my own. Your song “Even If” was released the year my younger son was diagnosed with many more mental illnesses, when the first diagnoses were overwhelming enough. I resisted the song at first, because I didn’t want to / couldn’t / wasn’t ready to admit that there might be an Even If kind of answer to all my fervent prayers for him. But reality finally sunk in, and I found the Hope in your lyr...

In the past 16 months since my breast cancer diagnosis, I’ve had boatloads of questions, and received answers for many of them. But I’ve also had other questions that bounce around in my brain, so I decided to share them here. These questions may show my ignorance, may or may not be rhetorical, or may just be comical, but I hope some are thought-provoking. If you have other questions along these lines, please share them in the comments. Skipping Treatments During my course of treatments, they were sometimes postponed. We had holidays, weekends, inclement weather, Tim and I were exposed to Covid, which all caused treatments to be postponed or even canceled. Once, my platelets crashed so bad, my treatment had to be postponed for actual health reasons. When doctors prescribe a regimen of treatments or medicines, like chemo, radiation, or the series of seven daily shots I had to have, how do our bodies, and the cancer cells these treatments are trying to eradicate, know/react to “skipping ...

I promised readers of The Pink Pages that I would update my journey here on my blog. I saved several updates for one post, so I’ll share them in chronological order like the book’s journal entries. DEXA Bone Scan Friday, May 10, 2024 With my chemo nurses, l-r: Paige, Emily, and Laura Today was my next-to-last Herceptin infusion and then I had a DEXA bone scan. Both went well. The bone scan was probably the easiest test/procedure I had the entire journey. They told me to wear clothes without buttons or zippers, so I wore leggings and a t-shirt. They had me lie down on a table, positioned my legs slightly, and then ran the scan over my hips and legs. I asked why not the whole body, and they said the hips were the best indicator if there was osteoporosis in the bones, and if it was there, it was everywhere. Took no more than 10 minutes total. The results came back that afternoon, and they were all clear - no signs of osteoporosis. So grateful. Cancer Support Group Monday, May 20, 2024 I ...

Today is an exciting day in so many aspects. As this blog post goes live, I am on my way to my final Herceptin infusion - the end of a very long year of chemotherapy, radiation, and Herceptin infusions, plus all the procedures and doc visits that go along with it! [SEE UPDATE BELOW!] Today is also LAUNCH DAY for two new books: The Pink Pages: A Practical A-Z Guide for Your Breast Cancer Journey is available in paperback and Kindle formats . and Days to Remember: A Journal for Your Cancer Journey is available in paperback . (The journal works for patients with any type of cancer.) A portion of the proceeds from the sales of these books will be donated to the Cancer Navigators and the Komen Foundation. Both organizations were extremely helpful to me during my journey, so I’m grateful to return the favor. At the end of this journey, the one emotion that stands out above all else is one of gratitude. I’m so grateful to God for allowing me to survive this journey. I’m so grateful that He ga...