2.
>>All information regarding this article was acquired from the Ameri-
can Cancer Society, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and Johns
Hopkins Medical Center.
Meet Karen Langlois-Foster (left center), the most recent recipient of the Genentech
“Dream Foundation” award. Dream Foundation—the first & largest national wish-
granting organization for adults & their families battling life-threatening illness—
awarded Karen & her family an all-expense paid trip to Disney World in Orlando, Flor-
ida. The Dream Foundation helps to deliver dreams to adults who are battling life-
threatening illness & who have a life expectancy of less than one year and are otherwise
unable to fund the dream on their own. Karen, a beautiful and vivacious mother of 2,
was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in 2010 at the age of 50. Karen initially
detected a lump in her right breast by way of self examination. Once she found the
lump, she sought medical attention to further investigate the source. During Karen’s
mammogram, a suspicious mass was detected and then biopsied. The results of her
biopsy eventually lead to her diagnosis. Karen said that when she first received the
news of her Stage IV diagnosis, she was “hurt emotionally”. Karen says she thought,
“Why? Just….why?”. In Karen’s case, there was no prior family history of breast can-
cer, therefore this was the last thing she was expecting. Although the news of her diag-
nosis was unexpected, Karen had a lot of support from her family, including her 2
daughters—ages 24 & 25. Karen received radiation therapy & chemotherapy during her
treatment process & is now enjoying her time with her family. When asked if she had a
message for others facing similar situations Karen said, “Talk it out. Talk to your chil-
dren. Don’t sit it out alone.” If you or anyone you know have been diagnosed with a life
-threatening illness & think you may qualify for the Genentech Dream Foundation pro-
gram, please don’t hesitate to visit www.dreamfoundation.org or call 805-564-2131.
(Karen)
