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Wednesday, October 05 2016 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

Lou Cirignano – Riding and Thriving Through Cancer

Lou and Melvin Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

Lou and Melvin
Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

By Susan Friedland-Smith

Lourdes “Lou” Cirignano assumed she needed to wear a more supportive bra for horseback riding in 2013 when she developed a stubborn rash that wouldn’t go away on her left nipple. The spunky brunette from Lake Forest, California, a devoted wife and mother of two adult daughters, tried changing bra styles and even wore two bras at once in order to alleviate it. That didn’t work, and the rash persisted over the span of six months.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month took on a whole new meaning in October 2013 when Lou was diagnosed with Paget’s disease of the breast, a rare cancer which affects the nipple and the darker skin surrounding it. She also had a lump in her left breast, which a biopsy revealed to be cancer. This was not a surprise as Lou’s doctor told her that Paget’s disease is almost always accompanied by one or more lumps within the same breast.

Lou and her daughters, Danielle and Lauren. Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

Lou and her daughters, Danielle and Lauren.
Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

Lou received treatment from the University of California, Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and during one visit was asked if she’d be willing to let medical students see her rash symptoms since Paget’s is so rare. “The doctor said, ‘It’s one thing to see Paget’s in a book and another to see it in real life,’ so I said sure. When the three students came in I said, ‘Come on in, kids. Check out my boobs!’ I try to deal with everything through humor even if it’s a little twisted.”

The two male students seemed embarrassed and simply observed while the female student asked several questions. Good humor and a good horse helped Lou stay positive through the trying days of chemotherapy.

Colic And Cancer Surgery

Lou, an avid trail rider, became involved with horses at the age of 36 when her daughter Lauren began riding lessons as a little girl. Lauren is now grown up and runs her own business, Le Cheval Sport Horses, at Peacock Hill Equestrian Center in Orange County.

Lou’s 22-year old National Show Horse, WCF The Big Kahuna, aka Melvin, was and still is her sanity. The friendly bay gelding has been with Lou for 16 years. Lou “inherited” him from Lauren when his show days on the Arabian circuit came to an end due to colic surgery. Once he recovered and could be ridden, Melvin proved to be a solid trail horse. After Lou took care of Melvin through colic surgery and later laminitis, Melvin returned the favor during Lou’s cancer journey.

Lou poses for a photo during chemotherapy. Photo courtesy of Lou Cirignano

Lou poses for a photo during chemotherapy.
Photo courtesy of Lou Cirignano

Because Lou’s cancer was such an aggressive form, the treatment plan to combat it was equally aggressive. After multiple surgeries to both remove her left breast and fully reconstruct it, she faced three 12-week rounds of chemotherapy. The first and third series of treatments were spaced three weeks apart with the second round of treatments occurring weekly. The whole time, Lou continued to ride despite her doctor’s warnings.

“They didn’t want me to fall off and dislodge the chemo port and they were worried about the germs around the barn,” she said. Lou found an unlikely ally in another barn parent who happened to be the head of oncology for UC-Irvine. He encouraged Lou to continue to pursue activities that made her happy and pointed out that none of the bacteria at the barn would be new to her system, as she’d been around horses for years. “Right before I went into one of my surgeries, I looked up and the head of oncology was right there at my side! He gave me a horse stuffed animal.”

Following surgeries, the chemotherapy started. “The first time I saw Melvin after my chemo, he acted weird. He didn’t want to come over to me, like he wasn’t sure it was really me,” she said. Lou surmised that Melvin could smell the cancer-combating drugs in her body. He eventually warmed up to Lou and for those several months, the gelding was on his best behavior.

“He didn’t do anything wrong the whole time — it was like he knew,” Lou recounted. Melvin never brushed against her with his face, took a bad step or glanced sideways when she rode him.

After her first treatment, Lou thought it would be an easy ride — but quickly learned otherwise. “There were some days I barely had the energy to walk from my car to his stall,” she said. One of the lessons Lou learned from cancer was to ask for help when she needed it. And so, her family and friends pitched in to help lift bags of shavings and grain that Lou would’ve otherwise attended to herself. And she continued going to the barn.

Lauren recalled, “She was so open about her cancer.” She believes her mom’s willingness to talk about what she was going through, along with having to care for Melvin, were coping strategies. “If she didn’t want to talk about it, she’d tell you … She only missed a few days of work.” Lou’s day job is in the field of sponsorship marketing and she does the accounting for her daughter’s horse business, too.

Prio to her cancer diagnosis, Lou traveled around the world on riding vacations, including an adventure in Spain (pictured). Photo courtesy of Lou Cirignano

Prio to her cancer diagnosis, Lou traveled around the world on riding vacations, including an adventure in Spain (pictured).
Photo courtesy of Lou Cirignano

An Adventure Of Epic Proportions

Prior to cancer, Lou had traveled around the world on horseback riding vacations in Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Alaska and Hawaii. Always a physically active person, Lou didn’t feel like her pre-cancer self after the surgeries — despite consistently riding Melvin.

Danielle, Lou’s older daughter, told her about an organization in Colorado called Epic Adventures that hosts a free week-long activity camp for cancer thrivers (as they refer to people who’ve received a diagnosis). Lou submitted an application in which she had to write about her cancer story. She was thrilled to be selected and later attended a winter camp where she got to snowshoe, ride a dogsled, cross country ski and play in the snow with new friends who shared a similar life journey.

“I want to go back as a volunteer,” Lou said, adding that she had a beautiful time in the great outdoors even though there was an incident with one of the dogsleds. She and another thriver were riding with a driver when they fell off the dogsled. They were unharmed, although Lou insists the driver of the sled had to have been mortified knowing he inadvertently dumped two women with cancer diagnoses on the ground.

Melvin and Lou continue to thrive together. Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

Melvin and Lou continue to thrive together.
Photo by Susan Friedland-Smith

As of today, Lou is healthy and happy, with a renewed sense of energy. At the end of her work day, she heads to the barn for a ride on Melvin. The two hit the dusty foothill trails of the Santa Ana Mountains and continue to nurture their thriving friendship. “I nursed him through colic and laminitis and he nursed me through surgery and chemo,” she said.

About the writer: Susan Friedland-Smith, a middle school history teacher who has been horse-crazy since girlhood, lives in North Tustin, California. Her OTTB Tiz A Knight is the main character of the blog Saddle Seeks Horse (SaddleSeeksHorse.com), which chronicles her amateur adventures and “the real horse life of Orange County.” Find her on Twitter @SaddlSeeksHorse and Instagram and Facebook @SaddleSeeksHorse.

 

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Tagged under: breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, lou cirignano, Susan Friedland-Smith

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Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

#dressage #equestrian #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #dressagehorse #equestrianlife #showjumping #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #instahorse #dressur #horselove #eventing #equestrianstyle #cheval #dressagerider #horselife #horselover #pferde #love #riding #jumping #pferdeliebe #horseofinstagram #horsebackriding #paard #dressurpferd
We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on o We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on our socials where we share some of the lovely stallions, and their breeders featured in each month's magazine. Our first feature on this #STUDSunday is...

 ✨ALVESTA OWAIN✨
Thistledown Arctic Lore x Alvesta Fairy Lustre
13.1hh, Welsh section B
Stud Fee $750 (plus collection)
AI only and EVA negative
Fairfield, VA

Contact Cheryl Maye at (703) 431-9096 for more information
https://www.mayeshowponies.com/more-info/stallions

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

📸  SAS Equestrian
‼️ROB JACOBS COLUMN‼️ The purpose of this ‼️ROB JACOBS COLUMN‼️

The purpose of this month’s column is to help the young equestrians of our sport develop and maintain healthy friendships within the industry. Cultivating healthy relationships with other members within the industry is not as easy as one may think. As a young equestrian, it may be difficult navigating friendships at the barn and at horse shows. Typically, kids have friendships within the barn they ride at but also friendships with others from different barns in their area. 

Initially, it may seem as though making other friends in the sport would be easy and ideal; after all, there is the common interest of horses. However, because of the natural therapeutic benefits of horses, the sport has a history of attracting all types of people, with a wide range of personalities. This can be both an advantage and a drawback. We are now in an era that acknowledges the growing need to discuss and manage one’s mental health. 

One thing I have learned is that we are likely to notice mental health challenges at an age younger than most people may think. Some of the friendship dynamics I have observed over the years have caused me to pause and really think about the future of our sport. Without looking for a source to blame for the cause of this, i.e. social media, parents, school, teachers, etc., I think if all adults involved worked to encourage, affirm, love, and respect our youth, the likelihood of them developing authentic friendships with their peers may increase.

Both humans and horses were designed to have connected relationships. These relationships allow a greater sense of security when one experiences challenges in life. Cultivating the quality and authenticity of these relationships requires intentional work. 

Thank you Rob for providing your helpful insight on developing healthy relationships. Check out his tips in his column you can find in the link in our bio.
Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine🦄 

Photo by Blenheim Equisports

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #hunterjumper #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #sidelinesmagzine
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