Sandi Bendocchi

Welcome to our Caring Bridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.


Our story begins with an annual physical and a brief mention of it being time for a mammogram.   Usually this is something I might put off until right before my next physical - but today seemed like a good day to at least check to see if I could be fit in.   A 15 minute wait seemed great in comparison to another visit.  In and out, nothing extraordinary.....until you get a phone call.  Still no alarms sound , no lump in your throat....just another inconvenience, something to get done and cross of your list.   Another phone call starts to turn your world upside down.  I think many of us have wondered how you would take the news if you were told you had something big, like cancer, secretly invading your body.  I always hoped I would take the news well, despite my nature of being a worrier and negatively going to the worst place - it's interesting to me that there was a bit of panic at first - but then came a calm and a wave of gratitude for all the blessings I have in my life.  So, I think it is true, that this is a journey. Some of it has not been pretty, and now with starting chemo, I know there will be many more difficult days, but there are also valuable lessons for me to learn.  I'll try to keep this journal for myself and family and friends, to keep you up to speed with my treatments and how I'm feeling - but also, to maybe share some of the things I've learned along the way and to also, some of the things I am grateful for!!!  Thank you friends for not only taking this journey with us, but walking it hand in hand with us!!!   (Please friends, don't put off a mammogram!!!)