Here's the email we sent out, letting our friends know about Pam's diagnosis:
I'm not sure if you've heard this through the grapevine already, but Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of weeks ago. It was a very aggressive tumor, and so we've had to act quickly. We spent last week doing tons of tests (Pam is very excited to report that she can conclusively say that she DOESN'T have a brain tumor!), and after reviewing the results, Pam had a double mastectomy yesterday. The surgery went relatively well: they didn't find any more cancer than anticipated, and they didn't have to cut any more than anticipated. But they nicked her lung during the surgery, so she had to have another procedure to insert a tube to drain the air, and let her lung heal. That means she'll be spending another couple of days in the hospital. Pam's recovering well from the surgery and the chest tube procedure. She's not in a lot of pain, and everything seems to healing well.

We've had to process a lot of information in a short amount of time, and our lives have changed pretty quickly. And while this news is bad, it's not horrible. Breast cancer is survivable. We have a strong family. We have two children who are old enough to help and be part of the process. We have a great support system. We have insurance. We will not be victims.

This year will not be easy for us. Pam will start chemo once she recovers from surgery. That will last 2-3 months, and then she'll have a month of radiation. We'll hopefully be done with this around September. At which point we'll start planning a kick-ass celebration for Pam's birthday in February.

We've already had to rely on our friends more than we've ever had to in the past. And it's been a fantastic experience, being supported in ways we couldn't ever have imagined. We will need your support, encouragement, kind words, and love this year. Other than that, there's nothing you can do right now.

Pam is hoping to write about this, since it helps her process the experience. There are just some test articles up there, and it's not very pretty yet, but check out pamshor.com for her thoughts. You'll be able to comment and add your own thoughts, and that would be very meaningful to her.

Well. I'm not sure what else to say. I'll try and keep everyone updated on Pam's progress, but I apologize in advances, since I know I won't be able to give everyone the information they want as soon as they want it.

Thanks in advance for your support and encouragement!

Marc, also speaking for Pam, Ryann and Miller