Well… apparently cancer really missed the DuVals. About six years ago, cancer decided to introduce itself to our family when Dave was diagnosed. We fought that battle, came out the other side, and apparently Cancer enjoyed our company so much that it came back for Round 2; this time choosing me. Rude. Very rude. I was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). It’s an aggressive form of breast cancer, but thankfully, all of my scans so far point to it being contained and not having spread to my lymph nodes or anywhere else. That is VERY good news, and we are holding onto it tightly. Because TNBC likes to come in hot, we’re coming at it even hotter. I officially start chemo on Friday, August 14th. Round 1 will be 12 treatments—one every week for 12 weeks. Once I finish those, apparently there is no graduation ceremony, tropical vacation, or even a complimentary toaster. Instead, I roll right into Round 2: another 12 weeks of chemo. Once all 24 weeks of chemo are behind me, the next step will be a mastectomy. So basically, Cancer has booked itself a rather lengthy stay with the DuVals. Unfortunately for her, she won't be getting a good review. For the next several months, our family is officially back in Fight Club mode. And if you know the DuVals, you know how we do hard things: inappropriate amounts of humor, sarcasm, optimism, probably a few bad words, and the firm belief that there are no rules when you're fighting cancer other than to WIN. The part I’m still learning is how to let people help. So many of our friends, family, coworkers, soccer/football families and other amazing humans have asked, “What can we do?” My normal response is something along the lines of, “We’re good!” because accepting help is apparently not one of my spiritual gifts. But chemo and stubbornness probably aren't the best combination. So here we are. One of the biggest ways you can help our crew over the next few months is simply helping us answer the dreaded daily question: “What are we doing for dinner?” If you'd like to help, you can sign up for one of the meal dates on our calendar. And PLEASE do not feel like you need to cook! Homemade meals are wonderful, but so are takeout, pizza, restaurant gift cards, grocery gift cards, food delivery gift cards, or anything else that helps keep the DuVal crew fed while I focus on kicking cancer's ass. For the first 12 weeks of chemo, we’re starting with **2 meals a week** while we figure out what our family actually needs and how my body handles treatment. When I move into the second 12 weeks, we plan to increase to **3 meals a week**, as that round is expected to be tougher on me and may bring more fatigue and side effects. Of course, chemo gets a vote in all of this, so we'll adjust as we go. There may also be times when we need a little practical help along the way, and we're going to try really hard to actually say "YES" when people offer instead of automatically saying, “Nope, we've got it.” Baby steps. 😂 Most importantly, please know that we are doing okay. We are positive. We are optimistic. We have a plan, an incredible medical team, a huge support system, and absolutely no intention of letting cancer write the ending to this story. We don't expect anyone to do anything. Your texts, prayers, check-ins, ridiculous memes, laughs, encouragement and love mean more to us than you know. If feeding us happens to be your love language, though… we certainly aren't going to argue with you. Thank you for loving our crazy crew, showing up for us and helping us through Round 2. The DuVal 5 Fight Club is officially back in session. And just like last time, there are no rules when you're fighting cancer, other than to WIN. Want to follow along with our journey? We’ll be sharing updates, laughs and all the DuVal 5 Fight Club chaos on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/199FDG3ABn/
A few notes to make things easy: • We have **no food allergies** and honestly enjoy just about everything! Some of our family favorites are **BBQ, Asian and Mexican**, but we are equal-opportunity eaters. 😂 • Please do NOT feel like you need to cook! Homemade meals are amazing, but so are takeout, pizza, restaurant/food delivery gift cards and grocery gift cards. The goal is simply to take **“What are we doing for dinner?”** off the list for the day. • Some of our favorite restaurants are **Los Rios, Marie’s Deli, Taco Mac, Osaka, FuKu, Domino’s, Papa Johns, Chick-fil-A, Homestead and Beto’s Tacos.** But these are just ideas; we’re definitely not limited to them! • For groceries, we typically shop at Kroger, BJ’s and Walmart, and thankfully, they all deliver! • We’re a family of 5, and leftovers are ALWAYS welcome. Teenage boys + leftovers = never a bad thing. • Since I’m just starting chemo, we don’t know yet if my tastes or what I can tolerate will change. We’ll update the page as we figure out what chemo decides I’m allowed to like that week. • A quick porch drop-off is absolutely perfect! There may be days when I’m feeling great and would love for you to come in, visit and chat for a bit, and there may be other days when a wave from the front door is about all I’ve got in me. Please never take it personally if we don’t invite you in. We’ll just be taking things day by day and following whatever my energy level decides to do. Most importantly, **please don't feel any pressure to provide a meal.** We are incredibly grateful for every meal, gift card, prayer, text, laugh and offer to help. It all means more to our family than you know.