Megan, far right, with her son DJ, daughter Brooke and partner Ryan.
By Nancy Eshelman, Columnist
When a woman is 33 years old and physically fit, when she focuses on serving healthy food to her family, when she's busy just living life, she doesn't expect a random pain to be cancer. And yet, for Megan Onofrey, that's what happened.
Megan is fit. So fit that she sometimes coaches others. So fit that she sometimes lifts weights. So fit that when she had a recurring pain in her pelvis, she wrote it off to physical activity.
When the pain lingered, she saw her doctor. She had tests. She had a colonoscopy. She had a tumor. She had cancer. anal cancer at 33.
That's when she set her mind to positive thoughts. Sometimes, especially when someone is alone, negative thoughts try to wiggle in. But Megan isn't having it.
"I'm not letting that in," she said.
Megan, left, her daughter Brooke, and sister Yvonne.
She has a son who is 12 and a daughter who is 6. She has Ryan, her significant other. She isn't fighting alone. She is fighting with and for them. And she's pretty convinced she's winning.
Megan, who lives in Ephrata, underwent treatment at the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute in Lancaster. For six weeks, ending in June, she underwent a regiment of chemotherapy and radiation. It knocked her out of the gym and onto the couch, but she kept her eyes on the prize.
Her cancer was painful, she said. She couldn't manage without Tylenol, taken regularly around the clock. By the time her treatment ended, she no longer needed the Tylenol. That's one reason she feels quite positive.
She has a lung scan scheduled in September and a PET scan in October. They will determine what's next in her life. Until then, she's exercising when she can and eating those healthy foods. When Vickie's Angels sent her two $100 Giant gift cards, the gift filled her grocery cart and her heart.
"We spent those gift cards in one trip," she said, admitting that a treat or two may have slipped in with all the healthy stuff.
Getting help from Vickie's was a "relief" and a "huge help," Megan said. The charity paid her rent for the month of August and two outstanding bills that totaled $600. She is thankful for the gift, because it lets her focus on positive thoughts, her health and the people she loves.
That's her recipe for winning.