{"id":23484,"date":"2014-10-09T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=23484"},"modified":"2014-10-08T12:47:51","modified_gmt":"2014-10-08T16:47:51","slug":"unionville-couple-goes-big-and-pink-in-fight-against-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=23484","title":{"rendered":"Unionville couple goes big and pink in fight against breast cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charley Gaebel\u2019s attention-getting approach \u2014 a giant pink dump truck \u2014 is intended to inspire others<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kim Chiomento<\/b>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Now cancer free, Unionville’s Denise Gaebel stands in front of her husband’s new pink dump truck \u2014 one he colored pink as a tribute to his wife’s brave battle against the disease.<\/p><\/div>\n

EAST MARLBOROUGH \u2014 In March 2007, when Charley & Denise Gaebel started their family business, Trio Excavating, little did they know they the grueling journey the next six years would hold.\u00a0 In October of that year, just seven months after the business opened, Denise received the terrifying diagnosis of breast cancer.<\/p>\n

At the age of 39, Denise diligently scheduled her base-line mammogram which yielded typical results.\u00a0 She had no family history of breast cancer, and does not fall into any high-risk factor categories; so she \u201cchecked-off that box\u201d and quickly moved on with her busy life; raising three daughters and working as a sales representative for the gift industry.<\/p>\n

When Denise returned for a subsequent mammogram at the age of 43, she was shocked when the test results showed 8 centimeters of cancer, as she describes, \u201czig-zagged\u201d throughout her breast. \u00a0\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d says Denise.\u00a0 She explains, \u201cI am so thankful that I scheduled that mammogram. Doctors told me it would have been nearly impossible to feel a lump or breast tissue change with this type of cancer.\u00a0 I am very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Denise and Charley Gaebel and the big pink truck — already a difficult to miss symbol of hope and the fight against breast cancer, seen on roadways in and around the Unionville and Kennett areas.<\/p><\/div>\n

Due to her cancer\u2019s erratic and invasive pattern, a lumpectomy was simply not an option.\u00a0 Denise underwent a mastectomy. \u00a0Following surgery, doctors also found a tumor in her breast; resulting in chemotherapy along with a year of Herceptine infusions (a drug that helps reduce the rate of cancer reoccurrence.) In addition, Denise learned that her type of cancer was estrogen driven.\u00a0 Based on this revelation, she was also placed on a rigorous protocol of Tamoxifen, (a well known, and commonly used, anti-estrogen therapy); another successful tool in helping to prevent additional cancer from developing.<\/p>\n

Following her mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, Denise was under close observation, faithfully keeping-up with doctor\u2019s appointments every three months.\u00a0 In 2012, when she found a lump in her reconstructed breast, she didn\u2019t panic. \u00a0Denise believed it was likely just a fatty tissue deposit, which can be quite common, especially when reconstructive surgery uses tissue from other parts of your body<\/p>\n

A lumpectomy revealed that it was not<\/i> fatty tissue but, to her horror, another cancerous mass; a relatively rare condition in a reconstructed breast.\u00a0 Once again, the Gaebels geared-up for an exhausting fight and leaned on their strong faith to guide them.<\/p>\n

Denise says, \u201cAs a mom of three daughters, I have chosen to never hide my cancer and want to share our journey.\u00a0 My message to them, and everyone, is to walk through it; whatever challenge you may be handed in life, walk on\u2013keep going, and most importantly you must trust in God.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The message \u2014 like the truck itself \u2014 isn’t subtle, but is a rolling reminder of breast cancer awareness, the need for early testing and research.<\/p><\/div>\n

Walk-on they did.\u00a0 Today, following a hysterectomy, lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation Denise is cancer free and is proudly here to enjoy and share the story of the pink truck\u2019s panache.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was ALL<\/i> Charley\u2019s idea!\u201d says Denise, \u201cWhen he told me it was time to invest in a new truck a few months ago, he mentioned he had some thoughts, but I had no clue what he was really thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

As their purchase got closer and details began to take shape, Charley shared his unique concept with Denise including incorporating his own breast cancer awareness mantra: \u201cBig and Small, Save Them All!\u201d<\/p>\n

Denise laughed and loved<\/i> it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only involvement I had was helping select the final shade of pink and I did suggest the inspirational messages on the sides of the truck: \u2018Pray for a Cure\u2019 and \u2018Hope, Faith and Love\u2019 \u00a0as having strong faith was the most powerful weapon in my fight to overcome this often deadly disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you are out and about, be on the lookout for the eye-popping-pink Trio Excavating truck with its humorous and inspiring messages; it is certain to make you smile.\u00a0 The Gaebels simply hope that that this iconic truck, will in some small way, inspire you and your loved ones to \u201cwalk through\u201d and stay strong in the face of all of life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charley Gaebel\u2019s attention-getting approach \u2014 a giant pink dump truck \u2014 is intended to inspire others By Kim Chiomento, Staff Writer, The Times EAST MARLBOROUGH \u2014 In March 2007, when Charley & Denise Gaebel started their family business, Trio Excavating, little did they know they the grueling journey the next six years would hold.\u00a0 In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[6222,6221,6220,24],"class_list":["post-23484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-breast-cancer","tag-dump-truck","tag-pink","tag-unionville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23485,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23484\/revisions\/23485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}