Cindy Barshop in 2021.Photo:Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
It was April 2022, andCindy Barshopwas at the Princess Juliana International Airportin St. Maarten, on her way home to New York after enjoying a week-long spring break in St. Barts with her then 12-year-old twins, daughter Zoe and son Jesse. But when Barshop attempted to board the plane, the airline staff refused to let her on, claiming she was too intoxicated.
“I was drinking a beer, it was no big deal,” recalls theReal Housewives of New York Cityalumna and founder of Completely Bare, the former New York-based waxing and laser hair removal salon. “All of a sudden, the airport security came over to me and said, ‘You’re not allowed to leave, you’re not acting appropriately.’” Confused and frightened, Barshop, 59, sent her children home on the plane with friends who were traveling with them while she stayed behind. “I didn’t even know what I did,“ she says. “But they thought I was off. It was the weirdest thing.”
The next day Barshop appeared coherent to the airline staff and was allowed to fly home, where she was eager to get back to work, opening a second location of her latest venture, a women’s intimate health spa calledVSpot.
But just days later, she suddenly started acting oddly again — this time while attending a charity event with her fiance, Jay Cardiello. “I was eating my fish with my fingers, then I passed out,” she says. “Everyone thought I was drunk.” The last thing she remembers was Cardiello taking her to the emergency room.
Cindy Barshop and Jay Cardiello at a party in 2021.Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Four days later, Barshop, who had been experiencing what she thought was stress-related headaches for months, was diagnosed with Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (also known as CNS lymphoma), an extremely rare cancer (approximately 1,500 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed per year, according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) in which malignant cells form in the lymph tissue of the brain and/or spinal cord.
While there is no known genetic link for CNS lymphoma, which has a five-year survival rate of 30 percent, Barshop’s mother succumbed to the disease in 2013. “It’s very uncommon,” says Elena Pentsova, Head Neurologist and Neuro-Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, who treated both Barshop and her mother.
Cindy Barshop receiving treatment in the hospital.Howard Barshop
Howard Barshop
Desperate for relief from the pain, she says she wasted ‘thousands of dollars” on alternative medicine in the hopes that something would help. “I was bloated and nauseous all of the time. I gained 40 pounds and just felt horrible.”
She was also left with cognitive issues that made it difficult to execute even basic tasks, like putting sugar in her coffee. “It was a horrific situation because my brain wasn’t functioning at full capacity,” she recalls. (She still sees a psychiatrist at NYU where she does brain exercises to improve her memory and cognition.)
Cindy Barshop with her twins.Howard Barshop
Even with her physical and mental struggles, Barshop’s primary concern was her twins who had to witness their mother in what she describes as “agonizing pain.” She says that despite having their “worlds flipped upside down overnight, they rose to the occasion and handled every aspect with kindness and compassion.” She credits their “positive attitudes” and “endless love” for getting her through the ordeal. “Their hundreds of kisses and hugs made me want to heal and get better,” she says.
By February Barshop was able to return to work full-time (the second VSpot location opened in November 2022), and she did so equipped with firsthand knowledge of the issues women endure post chemo, such as early menopause, vaginal dryness and loss of desire. By sharing her own story, Barshop hopes to empower other women to seek relief.
Cindy BarshopI just know deep within my soul that there is a reason this happened.
Cindy Barshop
I just know deep within my soul that there is a reason this happened.
“I hate to say it, but no one is okay after they go through chemotherapy. You have to work your body to be super healthy again, and that’s internally too,” she says. “Once you’re alive, you need to be happy to get healthier and feel better about yourself.”
She is staying on top of her own health, as well, with regular MRIs and blood tests. “You’re never done,” she says of her life post-cancer, which involves 10 different doctors. But she is also seeing progress. “Everyday I feel better, everyday I feel smarter and more aware and on point,” says Barshop. “I know I’m going to be back to where I was.”
And on the tougher days she focuses on her purpose. “I just know deep within my soul that there is a reason this happened. I am here to help women through their pain and challenges and help them feel more comfortable in their skin.”
source: people.com
