Velvette's Experience with Breast Cancer

How’d you hear about Pack Health and what made you want to sign up?

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and was ready to begin treatment. The first day they gave me the “big scare”, so to speak. You meet everyone — your whole team who you’re going to stick with the entire time. They even ask you if you’ve prepared your will. You’re honestly prepped for the worst. I felt so out of control. I told the doctors I wanted to my homework and prepare so I could get the best results possible. I wanted to do my part. They then connected me to their interactive medicine program. They set me up with a PT, a nutritionist, masseuse, and a trial with Pack Health. I wanted to be prepared for EVERYTHING to control the chaos. I was so drawn to the personalization that Pack Health provides. Pack Health was the icing on the cake with all my other resources because you were able to support me at home when I wasn’t getting treatment. I moved all my doctor’s cards to the second page of my information and the first page was dedicated to Pack Health.

How has your experience been so far? How’s it been with Alison?

I totally felt her energy, we were a great pair! Every week there was a special theme and the questions she would ask I viewed them as professional development for myself. One week we talked about nutrition, another hydration, then exercise, reaching out for support, etc. We got so close just chatting with each other that it was so easy to dig even deeper. She would always remember to follow up with me and we would take it from there. She was so flexible. I think that’s what made me love her so much. She wasn’t so set on what the curriculum was telling her to do, she was able to act as more of a friend to me.

Did you two set any specific Tiny Steps you’d like to share?

Hydration was a big one. I felt like I was doing really well, but I got to the point where I had to go to the ER. I really had to work on this. For me, it needed to be more than 8 glasses per day, it needed to be closer to a gallon. She encouraged me to get a water bottle and I figured out how many ounces that water bottle was. I began to wrap a rubber band around it to help me track how many bottles I’d had. I see people with these HUGE water bottles and I’m like, “I’m not going to carry that around.” But we figured out a way to make it work for me.

We also had to focus on trusting the treatment. That first week, my emotions were all over the place and I felt like I didn’t have any control over my destiny. Alison helped me have faith in my path, she let me vent and share the ups and downs with her, this was a big deal to me.

How has Pack Health helped you change your lifestyle?

Alison made it fun to stay healthy. Because of her personality, I was so eager for our Thursday evening calls to tell her how I reached or even overreached my goal. One of my Tiny Steps was meditation. I work in the college of education, so one of my goals was to go to these free meditation sessions 2 or 3 times a week. I was so eager to meet that goal and give Alison a good story, I actually went every day and I couldn’t wait to tell Alison!

What advice would you give to someone looking to sign up for one of our programs?

I would tell them to have fun with it and be honest with your Health Advisor. If you take it as a set of rules you have to follow, no one is going to want to be eager to participate in that next call. Don’t take it as “Pack health is trying to catch you doing something wrong.” For me, it’s about getting to know your Advisor. It’s about building a deeper connection. One day we discovered we were both from Latin countries. Knowing that about her, I was able to feel a deeper connection and dive deeper with her. You don’t have to share each other’s deep secrets, just take the time to get comfortable with that person because they can really help you out! We could’ve spoken for another two hours over the phone each time we talked.