DONNA MCNUTT: For me, getting
dressed
is a part of being completely
creative.
I always have loved to kind
of dress for what the day means
to me.
It's just like a shield of who I
am and an expression of who I
am.
For about three months,
I had really severe pain.
And I couldn't do the one thing
that I always do.
And that was get dressed.
So I went to a rheumatologist.
My entire body was shutting
down.
My diagnosis was
multiple myeloma.
I had three children
and a husband who I love so
much.
And I didn't want them to see
Mom not who mom is.
JACK MCNUTT: Your world gets
turned upside down.
For me, the preparation
and anticipation of doing
the chemo and the process
was being available to Donna
100%.
That's the key, being there
24/7.
DONNA MCNUTT: Cancer, you can
break me down.
But you are not going to take
who Donna is.
And I started to fight back
with my clothing.
And little by little, I would
get up.
And I would get a little bit
of mascara on.
Boy, I can maybe get
these stretch pants on.
And today, I'm going to wear
a really super-cute pair
of shoes.
I also knew I was not going
to try to pretend I had hair.
In getting prepared for chemo,
I wanted to, first and foremost,
shave my own head.
We went into a wig store.
And there was
this light pink wig.
And I put it on.
It was like, wow.
That's the cancer fashionista
wig.
My son came over and helped
me start a blog.
And it just kind of grew
from there.
Suddenly, I am a cancer patient.
And when I meet someone else,
I feel great if I could show
them, this is the journey that I
went on from the beginning.
JACK MCNUTT: The blogging did
bring everybody together.
I'm the guy who takes the pics
of my wife, 99% of them.
I've gotten to see
her whole pictorial journey.
DONNA MCNUTT: I think
that cancer makes you be still
and hopefully recognize the love
that you have in your life.
I literally began my journey
at 85% cancer, worked my way
down in eight months to 15%,
had a successful stem
cell transplant, 100%
in remission.
I don't want you to think
that you have to go to chemo
and look like this.
Or you have to be me.
But find your thing.
For me, it was getting dressed.
This is me fighting cancer, one
outfit at a time.
