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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Meadow on the Mountain

By Cynthia Nagrath
28-Nov-15
Meadow on the Mountain


TIE Editor Meadow Hilley (left) with Marie DeJournette (right) of the Breast Cancer Fund (photo: Hilley).
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On 13 September, TIE Editor Meadow Hilley climbed Mt. Washington in New Hampshire as a participant in the New England Peaks for Prevention event. Meadow’s climb supports the Breast Cancer Fund’s groundbreaking work to identify and eliminate environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. Mount Washington, at 6,288 feet, is the tallest peak in the northeastern United States.
A challenging year
For Meadow, this strenuous hike was nothing compared to the physical challenges she faced over the last twelve months. In fact, the past year was full of peaks and valleys for Hilley. Having just been married in August 2014, Meadow signed on as TIE’s Content Manager upon returning from her honeymoon. No sooner did she begin to settle into her new job than she learned that her first mammogram at age 41 revealed some alarming abnormalities. On a routine weekly conference call with TIE colleagues last October, Meadow was interrupted by another call informing her that she tested “triple positive” for an aggressive form of invasive ductal carcinoma.
That diagnosis set in motion a year-long battle with cancer that included five months of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and five weeks of intense radiation treatment that ended this summer. Aware that she was in a fight for her life, Meadow felt fortunate to have the strongest motivation of all: her two little girls, Fiona and Ava, ages four and six.
“This has been, hands down, the best year of my life,” stated Meadow. “And it’s mainly thanks to all the love and support I’ve received from my family, from my community here on Cape Cod, but also from my phenomenal colleagues at TIE who took turns sending us hot meals over the past few months and couldn’t possibly have been more compassionate.”
Beyond Mountains
We at TIE are extremely proud to announce that, in addition to being named Editor in July, Meadow was declared cancer-free. TIE founder and CEO Forrest Broman said, “The International Educator is privileged to have Meadow serving as our Editor. She is an inspiration to all of us, and her courage and fortitude are simply amazing.”
Just as the Haitian proverb reminds us that in life, there are mountains beyond mountains, Meadow immediately set out to face new challenges. Celebrating her clean bill of health in typical laid-back fashion, she ran two road races in August and will tackle a half-marathon in early October.
Living on a Prayer
Meadow carried prayer flags to the summit of Mt. Washington in honor of supporters and their loved ones who have been touched by cancer. The flags bore the message, “The wind carries our prayers of love, healing and remembrance. May we all be well.” Those flags are now traveling onward to Breast Cancer Fund events across the country.
Meadow explains, “One hundred percent of all donations go to the Breast Cancer Fund, whose mission is ‘to prevent breast cancer by eliminating our exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation linked to the disease.’"
To learn more about the environmental factors of breast cancer or to make a donation please go to http://prevention.breastcancerfund.org




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