Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/46359
Above: Brickl and her sisters, (back row) Carol Meise, Anna Meise, Rita Liegel, Shirley Brickl, (front row) Pam Schreiner, Aggie Anliker and Mary Schluter. Right: Brickl with her husband, Dean and their two daughters, Kristen and Missy. "Why me?" she remembers asking. "Why was I 'the one'?" It has been 16 years since that initial diagnosis. In that time, Brickl's attitude of perseverance has spread a light of positivity on many. Even as she's faced several recurrences and consequen- tial rounds of treatment, Brickl chose to not only pour herself into her own healing and spiritual development, but in connecting with others. She has been closely involved in the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life fundraising event, which celebrates cancer survi- vors and raises funds to advance cancer research. And along with Schreiner, she also helped launch Bosom Buddies, a breast cancer support group in the Sauk Prairie area. But six months ago, Brickl received the news: Her cancer was back, and it had spread. Brickl faced the diagnosis using the tools that she had cultivated over the years: She turned inward. She prayed and meditated, ul- timately opting to decline any treatment that would target the new tumors in her lungs and liver. Having experienced treatment cycles several times before, she understood the side effects she would face, and how intense the demands on her body would be. "I wanted to use this time to communicate and have clarity," she says honestly. Her choice was about one thing: quality of life. As a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Brickl is not alone. While death rates related to breast cancer have been declining, the sad truth is that an estimated 40,000 women in the United States will die from the disease this year. Th ere is no one way to cope with the fi nality of a terminal diag- nosis. Emotions run the gamut from anger and shock, to fear and sadness—sometimes all at once, says Nina Miller, a social worker and director of Breast Cancer Recovery, a nonprofi t dedicated to offering emotional support to women diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the years, Miller has seen how many women struggle with the feeling that their life is effectively over. "Th e diagnosis doesn't mean that you're actively dying," she ex- plains. Whether the time remaining is weeks or years, these wom- en still have time. "Th ere's still life left to live," she adds. Brickl agrees. "Look at your spirit. Don't leave this world with things undone," she urges women in her situation. If Brickl sounds uniquely at peace with her inevitable prognosis, it's because she is. While many struggle to fi nd others who can honestly relate to their experience—the physical, emotional and mental stresses that arise—Miller's mission is to help women make sense of it all. To that end, BCR offers Infi nite Boundaries retreats. Four-day getaways where women can fi nd wisdom and healing alongside others, the retreats are organized around their specifi c needs, from those recently diagnosed and adjusting to their "new life" to others, like Brickl, whose cancer has spread. Other local orga- nizations, including the Instant Sisters group at Gilda's Club of Madison, give women with metastatic breast cancer a chance to connect and support each other. Th e goal, Miller says, is to offer a space where local women can come together to address questions that few are able to answer. Will it be painful? How can I fi nd a middle ground between wanting to live a "normal" life and wanting to accomplish all I can while on this Earth? How can I accept a terminal diagnosis? 62 BRAVA Magazine October 2011