An Oasis in Ocean Grove, New Jersey

I just got back from an amazing experience. There is an oceanfront bed & breakfast in Ocean Grove, New Jersey (about 75 minutes from NYC) called Mary's Place by the Sea. Although the home is named after the Virgin Mary, this home is open to all religious denominations and does not include religion in any of their activities.

The mission of the home is to give women with cancer a place to rest and revive during and after treatment. The staff caters to the needs of every woman as they work through the physical and emotional rigors of their treatment and their individual cancer experiences. Guests may stay a few hours or a few days, if needed. In addition to great food provided by a nutritionist, they provide Reiki massage, guided meditation, yoga and spa services (I got a facial!)

Their goal is to provide a home of hope that allows the individual to get well and gain strength to win their battle with cancer. Right now they are "renting space" from an existing B&B. They have just recently bought an oceanfront plot of land and their goal is to have a 30 room facility (for women and their kids) built within 2 years.

The co-founders of this organization (Michelle Gannon and Maria McKeon) are magical. I arrived on Thursday night around 8PM from the city. I was run down from a long week at work and couldn't wait to relax. They greeted me with open arms and herbal green tea. I had a delightful night's sleep and woke up in the morning to the sounds of the ocean. It was a gorgeous day so I took a long run along the beach. I then had a delicious meal made by a nutritionist who asked all about my dietary needs. I spent a few hours lounging on the beach and then received a facial and a reiki massage (I was told during the reiki massage that she could feel a lot of energy in my heart which I guess is a good sign!)

I went back to the city around 6PM with a home cooked meal to take with me on the train. In less than 24 hours I was a completely different person. Calm, relaxed and rejuvenated. Although I am done with treatment, it still did wonders for my energy. I can only imagine what good it does for women who are actively battling the disease.

I left Mary's Place by the Sea with two promises:

• A promise to send them a list of ideas as to how they could build awareness and raise money (I sent that list this past Wednesday).
• A promise to tell anyone and everyone I knew about this wonderful facility and encourage you to pass the word along. The need volunteers and they need funding.

You can find out more by visiting marysplacebythesea.org. I love what these women are doing and truly believe it offers a true gift. Your mental state is such an important part of managing your cancer well. I have no doubt Michelle and Maria are saving the lives of so many women and are making the final days for those who can't win their battle with cancer more peaceful.

Thank you ladies for doing what you do!

Jen’s “Sexy Back” Weekend

I just got back from a great weekend at the NJ shore with my girlfriends. For a while now, my friends and I have been discussing a bit of a celebration when I am done with chemo and surgery. We joked around that it is my "sexy back" weekend since now that I am off the juice, I can get back to my fighting form.

We know that it isn’t the real CELEBRATION since my odds are still 50/50 of the cancer coming back over the next few years. However, if the past 4.5 years have taught us anything, it’s that we need to celebrate the daily milestones as opposed to waiting for the big moment.

My friend from high school generously offered his beach house in Long Beach Island for the weekend so off we went. The weather was perfect, the house was gorgeous and the company was divine. I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful time.

I wouldn’t have made it through the past few years without my friends and I am thrilled that some of them were able to take time out of their busy schedules and celebrate with me.

Just When I thought I was Out, They Pull Me Back In

Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in - Michael Corleone, Godfather 3

Sometimes I equate having cancer with being in the mafia. You might not want to keep this company but sometimes you don’t have a choice. I was having Godfather flashbacks this past weekend.

Dave was getting ready to go to Israel for 17 days to play in the Maccabiah games. We were enjoying the 4^th of July holiday and got to spend July 4^th watching the fireworks from the upper deck of the Intrepid Air and Sea and Museum. It was beyond beautiful. The weather was great and we were happy.

However, I had been experiencing sharp pains in my lower abdomen for a few days. I never knew when they were going to come but when they did, they were excruciating. I had never felt anything like it.

Dave was worried and I was just frustrated. For most people this would mean, “Take some Motrin and see what happens”. For me, it meant I had to visit MSKCC’s urgent care facility. The words of my doctor rung in my head, “We are keeping you on a short leash and if you experience anything unusual, you need to visit us”.

So, Dave and I spent all day Sunday sitting around urgent care getting scans and check-ups. Thank goodness it turns out that I just was experiencing tendonitis (actually, it was my physical therapist who diagnosed me the next day!). I never thought that my recent introduction back to exercising would cause undue stress on my lower abdominal muscles. They are having a hard time keeping up with me after so many weeks of inactivity.

We were both thrilled to hear this news. It meant that Dave could travel to Israel with no concerns and that I could rest easy and take some Motrin. However, I couldn’t help but get sad over the situation. I am trying so hard to put cancer behind me…I am eating well, exercising, sleeping a lot etc. However, one little move and I am right back to where I started…the hospital, the injections, the scans.

I am mentally ready to move on but physically I will be dealing with this for a while.

An Amazing Article - About Me!

I was interviewed about two weeks ago for an article that was going to be about Lance Armstrong's influence on cancer patients (see below). I was beyond humbled (and thrilled), when the article's focus evolved into how I choose to live my life fighting this disease. It was extremely gratifiying to see how this report "got me" after only a 30 minute interview. I hope it matches with you how you view me as well :)

Lance Armstrong’s Hero Tag Applies to Jennifer: Scott Soshnick

Commentary by Scott Soshnick

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Truth be told, this column was supposed to be about that great athletic inspiration Lance Armstrong, the cycling supernova and cancer advocate who first whipped the tumors and then the competition.

Armstrong is pedaling, yet again, contending for what would be his eighth Tour de France title.

It’s an amazing tale of triumph, grit, determination and will.

Here’s another one for you.

It’s the story of Jennifer Linn, who is also a cyclist, albeit of the indoor and stationary variety.

Armstrong says he rides for cancer survivors. Funny, but Jen says that particular term doesn’t compute. She simply won’t let it.

“I don’t know what survivor really means,” she told me the other day. “I’m a liver.”

It’s more than semantics.

It takes only a few seconds of conversation with this effervescent 38-year-old to recognize that Jen knows what she wants out of life. And, even better, she’s intent on getting it. No matter the obstacles. No matter the doctors and their diagnoses. No matter the abdominal cancer that keeps coming back. Again and again and again and again.

Literally.

Living Goal

More than anything Jen, who runs the consumer marketing group atNickelodeon, home of SpongeBob and Dora, wants to explore what’s possible. Simply existing isn’t enough. Living is the goal. Every day. Best she can.

I was introduced to Jen by the good folks at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where surely, I figured, Armstrong must be a source of daily inspiration.

Instead I found inspiration in Jen, who had read Armstrong’s book, “It’s Not About the Bike,” before beginning her first chemotherapy treatment.

The more we spoke, the more evident it became that what Armstrong is doing for others pales in comparison with what folks like Jen are doing for themselves.

“Early on I realized I have a choice in how I live,” she says. “You either give up or fight like hell.”

Great slogan. Perhaps Nike Inc. ought to give Jen a commercial.

Jen might not be a world-class athlete, but she doesn’t miss a turn on the bike. An hour on good days. Sometimes only minutes on bad days. Never skips it, though.

“I love, love, love to exercise,” she says. “It’s a good way to show you’re alive, to push yourself.”

Chemo Fridays

Jen is always pushing, which is why she schedules chemotherapy treatments on Friday afternoons. That gives her the weekend to recover from any nausea and fatigue. You see, she doesn’t want to miss work. Not a day.

Jen refuses to see herself as a statistic, which is probably a good thing since doctors gave her a 50-50 shot at beating the sarcoma that was found in her gut back in 2004.

Jen wakes up, assesses her condition and lives to the best of that day’s abilities. Living is a choice.

The good news about Jen’s particular cancer, doctors say, is that it’s treatable if it stays put. The bad news is that it’s a pesky variety that leaves and comes back, leaves and comes back.

“I’ve never made it past 13 months,” Jen says.

So far she’s had four reoccurrences. And four major surgeries.

Jen has endured 30 months of intensive chemotherapy. All those needles, all those lines, as the nurses call them, have compromised her veins. That explains the port in her chest.

Finding Time

And still she finds the time and the energy to pump those pedals, which, like Armstrong, has become a vehicle for helping others.

Three years ago Jen founded Cycle for Survival, which has raised more than $2 million, making it the most successful patient-run fundraiser in Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s 125-year history. The next installment is scheduled for Jan. 31, 2010, in New York, and Feb. 6 in Chicago.

This woman just won’t quit until so-called orphan cancers, rare types like the one she has, and that don’t get much attention from pharmaceutical companies, are vanquished.

Jen’s team is called the LiveStrong Linns, a play on Armstrong’s ubiquitous slogan and yellow wristbands.

Something tells me that he’d be OK with the infringement. You can’t trademark help and hope.

“Lance has put a face on cancer that says we want to continue living,” Jen says.

A famous face.

Representing Everyone

Jen, meantime, represents the faceless. After all, she won’t be sipping champagne while pedaling up the Champs-Elysees anytime soon. Maybe that’s a good thing. Jen is the girl next door. She’s your sister. She’s your friend, not some world-class athlete with ungodly stamina. People can relate.

Fact is, all the things people say about Armstrong are easily applied to Jen, too.

She’s a hero. A fighter. An advocate. A role model. A beacon.

Before we parted Jen asked if I thought Armstrong, who was in second place at the time, would win the Tour. I wouldn’t bet against him, was my response.

“I understand that,” Jen said.

Of course she does.

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York atssoshnick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 13, 2009 21:01 EDT