All aboard! | Holland America Cruise Line plays host to breast cancer survivors for sixth year

Captain Arjen Van der Loo, who has been at the helm of Holland America’s Oosterdam for the past seven years, says he has “the best job in the world.”

With 24 years on the bridge, he has seen most of the world. An event held while the elegant ship was in port Sept. 8, has been special for Van der Loo and also for hundreds of breast cancer survivors for six years now.

The Oosterdam crew and the Susan Komen Foundation has made it a tradition to invite breast cancer survivors to the ship for a four-course lunch, followed by a program in the ship’s auditorium. It’s a celebration of life and a special day for everyone in attendance.

“With breast cancer being the second cause of cancer for women there is not a person on our staff who hasn’t been touched by this,” Van der Loo said. “We want to share and help this very important cause.”

The captain said every week there are four to six breast cancer survivors on board.

“This is a fantastic time to recognize them,” he said.

Holland America supports breast and other cancers with a program called On Deck for a Cause. On Deck for a Cause invites cruise guests to participate in a noncompetitive 5K fundraising walk on every sailing aboard each of the line’s 15 ships, with proceeds to be distributed among the American Cancer Society, Canadian Cancer Society, Cancer Council Australia, Cancer Research UK, Deutsche Krebshilfe (German Cancer Aid) and KWF Kankerbestrijding (Dutch Cancer Society).

Guests donate $20, and 80 percent is distributed to the above organizations with the other 20 percent covering administrative costs. Depending on the size of the ship, 5K can take nine to 12 laps.

“While our ships are fanning out all over the world, we’ve chosen a foundation to support in several countries,” Van der Loo said. He said he gets goose bumps before the on-deck walks.

Funds are split out to all parts of the world.

The Oosterdam has a passenger capacity of 2100 to 2300 people, with 60 on the technical crew and another 60 on the navigational crew. The view from the bridge is like being on the top of the world. The various gauges and charts make you feel as though you’re in the Starship Enterprise.

It was an honor to be allowed on the bridge to get this birds-eye-view. But the day was about more than the ship. It was about the survivors.

I sat with the most incredible group of women who have all been down the same road as I have. Patti Margeson tested positive for BRCA1, the same gene that Angelina Jolie has. Through Jolie’s fame, BRCA1 has been brought into the national conversation. Research by Dr. Mary-Claire King, a geneticist at the University of Washington, proved her theory that certain breast cancers are hereditary. Margeson’s son, younger sister and cousins are also positive for the gene, but her daughter is not. Margeson was already scheduled for a lumpectomy, so she elected to have a full hysterectomy at the same time to increase her odds of living. She knows if the breast cancer comes back she is looking at a mastectomy.

“Every time I hear a story I second guess everything I did,” Margeson said. “If I get it again I know what I have to do.”

Lesli Zielke was diagnosed in 2008 when a mammogram revealed she had cancer in the right breast. She had a lumpectomy followed by radiation, but it came back two years later so she had another lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

Sue-Z Trudell, an attractive, upbeat blonde, was diagnosed in January of 2011, the same month I was diagnosed. She went through chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and radiation and is doing fine now, as are Margeson and Zielke.

Then there was Marilyn Hazelton, who said I looked familiar. It turned out we both had reconstructive surgery at the same doctor’s office, just different surgeons. The funny part is, she works there as a nurse. Not only that, we had the exact same procedure, called a TRAM-flap, so we were able to compare notes and actually laugh about it.

Yes, laugh. But at the time you’re going through it, it’s not funny. Like all the ladies mentioned above, we all talk about “if it comes back.” It’s a hard thing to shake — the fear and dread of going through it all again.

The keynote speaker was best-selling author Erica Bauermeister. She said we had all become activists and daredevils in addition to becoming survivors.

I don’t know that I’m a daredevil, but I do take chances now that I didn’t before. Because you just never know. This is life, not the dress rehearsal.