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Life is Beautiful

Christmas 2006 was a happy time. Our son came for the holiday. Happy days. . He then made a quick return trip in January 2007, before going back to work as a pilot. On January 19th, I was sitting in my G.P,s office being told it looked like I had breast cancer and I was to see a specialist asap. My son had left that morning,,to go back to work. I had not told him about the lump I had found in my right breast. My husband and I decided to wait until I had all the facts , a plan of action,before we told him. I needed some positive information, I did not want him to just hear the scarey news with no answers. So I decided to wait until after seeing the Doctor.
As I was sitting in the Doctors office ,our son was killed in an automoble accident.
There are no words to describe the next few weeks.I was living in a nightmare.If it had not been for my family and the medical people I dealt with, I know I would not have survived. My daughter in law was and is a blessing. She and I developed a relationship that was born out of deep ,deep sorrow. She saw me through my Doctor visits, surgeries, radiation treatment and blackest moments. We cried,we laughed (oh how we laughed.!!!) we danced and we shopped !!!!!! My journey has been bitter sweet. I have met some wonderful people, I now volunteer at the Cancer Clinic in our local Hospital. I am well and a survivor! I feel I have to go on, be positive because I have my sons memory to answer to. He would not have allowed me to give up.! . Life is worth living, its beautiful.

Anonymous
Kamloops, Canada

God's Gift

While home with a cold 3 years ago I decided to give myself one of my monthly breast exams and found I had a lump on the side of my right breast. I had just had my mammogram 4 months prior which was clean. This was a Thursday and my doctor saw me the following Monday and my diagnosis was no later than Wednesday of that same week and then the ball began to roll. I had a lumpectomy and 30 rounds of radiation. I thank God for this because I truly enjoy and live life to the fullest while giving all honor and praise to God for being a survivor. Please continue to give yourself breast exams as well as your yearly mammogram. Remember to uplift and encourage each and every woman that you meet along this journey. PTL

Veronica Hilton
Bowie, MD

Courage, Encouragement, & Support

I am not a breast cancer survivor, nor do I have any family members who have fallen victim to this insidious disease. For that, I thank God every day for my blessings. But, I have had friends who have been through the siege, and I am thankful that there is support for them through organizations like The Breast Cancer Site. I come to the website every day to "click the button", and stop each day to read the newest story of hope and bravery. I am so inspired by these women and know that should I need the support, I definitely have a safe haven with women who would have gone before me. Thank you.

Vicki Wronkowski
Sandwich, IL

Never quit

When we married, Hedy had already had a double mastectomy. In 1997 the cancer came back with a vengeance (bone, brain, liver & lung). The oncologist gave us 6 months. She then had 3 autologous stem-cell transplants with massive chemo. It was two years of hell. She was then on a chemo protocol for the next ten years.

In 2001 I was downsized and decided that, since you can't buy time, we would eat dessert first. We spent the next 6 years enjoying each other, the kids and grandkids.

When we married, a second for each of us, Hedy was worried that she wouldn't get to see the girls' Sweet Sixteens. We not only saw 5 of them, but also the birth of five grandchildren.

Hedy would see an ad for travel and say "Someday we should...". Out would come the plastic and we did. We travelled all over the US. When she was tired, we'd rent a wheelchair, but we were having a great time. Could we afford it? Not really, but it was only money, and nothing can compete with the time we spent together.

She battled the cancer for 28 years but was too stubborn to let it dominate our lives.

I guess the moral of the story is to be positive and, while the disease is always in the bckground, live life to the best of your ability.

Bob Geary
Ronkonkoma, NY

MY MOM

My Mother was a 30 year breast cancer survivor in January 2008. Every 4 months she went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to make sure it didn"t come back. But in Febuary of 2008 we found out she had bone cancer and she passed away.

Dorothy Otterson
Burnsville, MN

My mom is a surviver!

My mom is a surviver. I still live with her and my twin sister does too. In the year 2007 in the summer she was in the hostpital and we had no idea what to do. She was going to die there. A donor gave her blood and she lived. As of today, my mom feels great. Her hair is coming back long and quickly growing [You lose your hair]. God gave her a chance and we are blessed to have our mom here everyday. She could of lost her life in the hostpital. Instead, she through all the needles and fear she had in her heart. She had a lot of faith, and that was the key to surviving. We are really blessed! So for all the survivers out there, you are blessed because God was with you and he wanted to give you a chance to live and have fun. God bless you all!!!

Anonymous
Avenel, NJ

How I found out I had breast cancer

How I found out I had breast cancer is by knowing how my breast feels. I was 36 when I found out I had cancer. When I went camping it was a cool morning. My hands got cold so I put them under my arm pits. That is when I found something hard and was not normal. Went to the doctor that Monday morning the next day went in for surgery found out it was cancer. I was told that the tumor was old and had it for years and didn't know it. I went to have physicals every year religiously. The OB doctor didn't find it. But I was the one who did. I went through chemo and radiation. How I managed to get through the toughest year of my life was by writing a journal of my feelings and how I felt. No one knew how I felt nor what I was feeling. No one does until they go through what I endured. That is why I feel I need to share my story with you. If I can help one other person get through this difficult time in there life I feel I have done my job. Knowing your Breasts and mammograms are the best way to detect cancer. I am happy to say that I am 5yrs out. It does get better. If I can survive so can you. You just need to hold on to hope and trust in your doctor.

Lisa Russell
Oshkosh, WI

2 time Breast Cancer Survivor

I am 35 years old and have been diagnosed with Infiltraing Ductal Carcinoma two seperate times. I have undergone lumpectomy, lymph node removal, mastectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy. I have had 2 failed attempts at reconstruction. 1 TRAM Flap and 1 Lastisimus Dorsi Flap. Results from my genetics test reveils that I do not carry the breast cancer gene. My mother took DES for a very short time early in her pregnancy with me. This is slowly becoming the major factor in my diagnosis. In May 2009, I underwent a complete hysterectomy with no complications. I am now 2 years cancer free and living my life to the fullest. Positive attitude is the number 1 factor in survival.

Darcie Hartley
Albany, OH

My 49,000km 'service'.

Around my birthday every year since I turned 45 I usually went for a checkup with my doctor. Having missed my 49,000km 'service' I went along 5 months later and came out of the doctor's with the usual paperwork: a form for blood test and a referral for a mammogram. Since I wasn't over 50 I was told that the mammogram would cost me $65 and as it turned out, that $65 saved my life.
The first mammogram was followed by a recall, which then led to an ultrasound and a fine needle biopsy. The day after the latter, my doctor rang to say that the results weren't good - the lump was malignant and she'd made an appointment with a specialist for me for the very next day.
Specialist Friday, operation Monday and so began the journey through the world of breast cancer.
It was quite strange to start with. It took me a few days to equate 'malignant lump' with breast cancer - somehow I didn't make the connection at first - after all breast cancer was serious, people died from breast cancer and I wasn't even sick!! However, once on the 'journey' you quickly learn to deal with reality and focus on the 'goal posts'!
Fortunately or unfortunately a friend had been diagnosed with breast cancer a little before me and we ended up doing radiotherapy at exactly the same time. We decided that we needed to take a different approach to all this: so it was coffee and cake on Wednesdays and lunch out on Fridays. As silly as it sounds we really enjoyed those 6 weeks!
We're almost at the 5 year mark. I appreciate every sunny day, every rainy day and everything in between. After all - what's $65 compared with life!!

Alison
Newcastle, Australia

My mom' surviving moment

My mom was diagnosed 9 years ago with breast cancer and now I can say she is a survivor and my hero. I wasn't able to be with her in a physical state while going through her chemotherapy, but in spirit I was with her through prayer. I have been lucky not to be diagnosed but with both my maternal and praternal grandmother both losing their left breast from cancer then my mom it makes me think a little harder and take better care of myself. I get yearly mammograms though my local health department since I am low income and have no health insurance. It is my duty for me and for my family to get these yearly exams for peace of mind.

Tabatha Hughes
Cynthiana, KY