Chesapeake woman tells world via blog: 'I'm cancer free'

CHESAPEAKE

The chemotherapy is over for Libby Ryder, and so is the waiting, the wondering, the "what if?"  The Positron Emission Tomography scan came back clean. That allows Libby, whose "don't waste your cancer" blog is approaching 280,000 hits, to tell her husband and the world, "I 'm cancer free."

When The Virginian-Pilot featured the story of the 27-year-old Chesapeake mother in September, the news of her cancer diagnosis - nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's lymphoma to be exact - was fresh, and her blog, initially a way to keep family and friends informed, was in its infancy.

For the past six months she has shared her journey with a readership that has become a national circle of support. She has written about losing most of her hair and growing out of her jeans.

She has blogged about one good week followed by a miserable one, when chemotherapy treatments left her unable to get out of bed for days. She has told readers about baby Ava's first birthday and husband Justin's Valentine's Day surprise.

Throughout, she has described a faith in the Lord that is unwavering despite trials most of us don't face so young. One entry from earlier this year, all lowercase as usual, reads:

i am so much stronger and more in love with jesus than ever. i would never take back cancer. not for a million dollars. jesus knew what thru this pain he was going to teach me more than i ever could have could have imagined. i think what i learned the most. well, the two things: trust and strength. i experienced maybe for the first time what it means to really trust God with my life.

Just as the final weeks of this month were stressful for Libby, they were anxious for her readers, too. Many of them have bonded with a woman they have never met, supplying her with care packages, letters and gift cards that allow her to indulge in her favorite treat, a skim latte from Starbucks.

Regular followers of "don't waste your cancer" knew weeks ahead of time Feb. 18 was the day. She would learn her PET scan results, and so would they.

She e-mailed her doctor that Friday morning. He called her immediately.

"Libby, it's good news. The scan came back great. There's no cancer."

Processing it for a moment on her bed, Libby wanted to make sure she understood. "You mean I'm cancer free?"

She didn't scream or jump up and down when the call ended. She sent a text to husband Justin, and quickly he returned to the Grassfield home they share overlooking the Elizabeth River.

They spent the day together, reading the Bible, having lunch and enjoying 14-month-old Ava. They drove to Richmond that night as part of a Young Life gathering, as Justin is an area director for the youth ministry that reaches out to middle and high school students.

Before leaving, Libby blogged her news under the headline, "Rejoice. I say again Rejoice!"

Within hours, she had 113 comments.

Reads one that echoes most:

"While you don't know me, I've been following your blog pretty much from day one after a friend of yours asked for prayers via FB. I remembered that you were to get your results today and when I opened up the blog, chills ran through my body and tears came to my eyes as I read the FABULOUS news!!!"

Libby entered the Young Life event and received a standing ovation.

"Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. All of this is overwhelming, really," she said, noting the 1,700 e-mails in her inbox she plans to respond to personally. "People write to me and say, 'You don't know me, but I feel like you're my best friend.' "

One idle concern remained. Libby has a nagging discomfort in her left hip. Pain in that area is what initially sent her to the doctor last summer. She had an MRI on Tuesday.

Her cell phone rang Wednesday afternoon.

"Think it's the doctor," she said.

She wasn't on the phone a minute, her eyes never looking at Justin, next to her on the couch. The call ended. A peaceful smile settled on her face.

"Everything's great," she said. "It was clean."

Justin and Libby embraced.

The story isn't over. Libby will have CT scans every six months for the next two years. Every three months she will undergo blood work. Mammograms will start early. She and Justin will hold off for at least a year before having another baby.

The blog isn't ending, either.

"Its title is going to change," she said. "It's going to be 'don't waste your cancer... or your life.' "

In it she will continue to tell her story, which now will include the wonder of Ava's evolving vocabulary and details of an upcoming trip to New York City.

But she has since realized what a motivator her words are, whether they are about cancer, marriage, motherhood or faith.

"I still have a story to tell," she said.

Throughout it, Libby has always understood things could have turned out differently.

"This six months has transformed me," she said. "I was sick. I had cancer and now I'm healed. That's not everybody's story. Just because you trust in the Lord doesn't mean everything is going to turn out all right. Justin could have been a widower at 26 and Ava could have been without a mom."

Justin said: "We could lose this house, our tiny bunch of money, my job, all the things that create the most stress in life. They don't compare to death."

Libby recalls leaving that initial doctor's visit and sitting with Justin in the car. Both of them looked at each other as if to say, "We've got this."

Got it and beat it, too.

Vicki Friedman, (757) 222-5218, vicki.friedman@pilotonline.com