Sally’s Story

“Mustang Sally” Ring was a force to be reckoned with. She was fiercely loyal and honest to a fault. She was fully and wholeheartedly devoted to her husband, Dan, daughter Stacy, son Jimmy, son-in-law Jim, and her grandchildren: Danny and Riley. She met her third grandchild, Kellan, before any of us did on Earth. We are sure he was a heavenly gift sent down from “Bee”. Sally was the 9th of 12 children, and held very special relationships with each her siblings. Sally was a true friend, the ultimate entertainer, and the life of the party. When she hugged you, she meant it. She was brave. She was courageous. She was faithful. She was inspiring. She was loved. So, so loved.
Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer on January 7, 2010. Like many who suffer from this horrific disease, the first lump she noticed was not in her breast- it was in her arm pit. We quickly learned that this meant the disease had “metastasized”, meaning that the cancer had spread from the primary source (breast) to another part of the body. This instantly put her into the Stage II category. She was immediately scheduled for a scan of her entire body to see if the disease had metastasized further. After two heart-wrenching weeks of waiting for the results, our greatest nightmare was confirmed on February 2nd: the breast cancer had spread everywhere. She had over 70 lesions on her liver and lungs. When breast cancer spreads to your organs, it is considered Stage IV METASTATIC Breast Cancer. There is no cure, only treatment. METASTATIC Breast Cancer is terminal.
There is nothing that can prepare you to hear this news, or the grim statistics that accompany it, affecting someone you love. As the oncologist explained the results, it felt like the walls of the examination room were closing in and the air was being sucked out of it. It was hard to breathe. The doctor’s words become blury and our brains could not process the finality of this news. It was a death sentence that no one was prepared for. A month before we were celebrating Christmas. Everyone was healthy and happy, and life was normal. Just 4 short weeks later, nothing would ever be normal again.
As you would expect, Sally stepped up to the plate in her straight-to-the-point way and asked the hard question that none of us wanted to hear: “How long do I have?”
After the oncologist spilled out the results of her tests and the above statistics like a cold, emotionless, machine, no one wanted to hear this answer. But his response was one we will never forget:
‘I can interpret data, I can tell you the statistics. What I can’t measure is your will to live. How hard will you fight? What are you fighting for? Those are things that will play heavily into this battle and there is no statistic for that.’
Sally ran with that. She knew what she was fighting for, and boy did she put up a fight. She joined a group called METAvivors , which provides support among each other fighting Metastatic Breast Cancer, and also promotes MBC awareness and funding.
Over the next 5 years, she went through countless chemotherapy treatments and radiation. During the first year of her fight, with her immunity low from radiation, she was diagnosed with Rapidly Progressive BOOP (Bronchiolitis Obliterans Organizing Pnemonia) which is quite similar to the current COVID-19. The disease moves very fast, does not respond to antibiotics, and most often leads to acute respiratory failure. She was intubated for 2 weeks and treated with massive doses of steroids. Her prognosis was day to day, hour to hour at one point. She was still fighting cancer. With her family in shifts by her bedside, and with an incredible amount of prayers, she miraculously recovered from this and continued her fight with metastatic breast cancer.
Her will to live was like nothing we have ever seen. Her courage, strength, faith, and optimism fueled a fight against this awful disease that left us all inspired….and heartbroken when the Lord called her home on March 10, 2014.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Sally got regular mammograms. Her cancer went undetected.
• Between 20 and 30 percent of women with early stage breast cancer go on to develop metastatic disease.
• While treatable, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cannot be cured.
• The five-year survival rate for stage 4 breast cancer is 22 percent; median survival is three years.
• Annually, the disease takes 40,000 lives.
• Popular breast cancer fundraising give an average of only 2%-5% towards researching metastasis (Stage IV CURE)
• The focus of most popular breast cancer fundraisers are on prevention and early detection (which are still very important!!!!) But this is not finding A CURE.
METAVIVOR
Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, Support, and Awareness
When Sally started this battle, I don’t think any of us could have imagined the extreme highs and lows that would come over the next 5 years. It was like she was dropped in the middle of a war zone with no warning at all, wounded, and fighting for her life. We’ve never seen her so brave, and us so weak. She fought every day with a vengeance. But when you are diagnosed at Stage IV, the doctor’s goal is to “manage” the disease that has entered your blood stream. Cancer is such a ruthless and relentless disease, it is very uncommon- especially at stage IV- to outlive the medicine. The cancer usually takes over before the patient is even through half of the available chemotherapies. Throughout her journey, she had been through countless chemotherapies and radiation. Each one had its own set of horrific side effects. She was a warrior and she has outlived the medicine. She had been through so many different strings of chemo that her body became immune to it. We ran out of options. We all knew that this was inevitable but, with Sally in the fight, you just couldn’t help but think she could do the impossible.
The additional 4 years her family was blessed with did not ease the blow and our hearts are suffering a pain that we did not know existed. We don’t want other families to experience our grief. We want more funding for this disease, and we want the warriors fighting today to have options! Medical advances!!! And a CURE!!!!!!
SHANNONS COMFY CHEMO CARE BAGPROJECT
This project began in February 2017 by our dear friend and breast cancer warrior, Shannon Norris, who decided she wanted to make a difference WHILE she was going through chemotherapy herself. Knowing first hand how harsh the chemo journey is- on your mind, body, and soul- she began delivering bags to her fellow cancer warriors filled with things to make them more comfortable…and, more than anything, to make them SMILE and feel extra loved. She collects items through fundraising and donations and delivers these bags to Anne Arundel Medical Center and throughout the country.
She’s doing incredible work and we are proud to support her!!!
SALLY’S CHEERS TO NOW CHECK
Our family mantra throughout Mom’s sickness was, “CHEERS TO NOW!” Anytime one of us said it (and that was often) it was a way to escape the looming dark cloud over us and acknowledge the present moment. We all had our moments of despair and tears over those 5 years. But there was far more laughter, love, hugs, kisses, and PURE joy. Those were the moments when we forgot about cancer and wrapped ourselves in love and life. Those were the moments that fueled our family’s fight.
Some of the funds from this year’s tournament will be contributed to the first annual SALLY’S CHEERS TO NOW check. We will present this check to a cancer-fighting warrior that embodies our mother’s spirit. It will be someone who does not allow the disease to dictate their happiness…a fighter who can find optimism through the darkness and who shares our mother’s love of life.
We will present this check to fund their own “Cheers to now” moment.
Please feel free to nominate any one you know who should be considered.