I share this story for 2 reasons:
Moral support for those currently fighting the battle.
Moral support for those battling the body image.
I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer at the age of 31. My children were 11 months, 7 and 10. My prognosis was a 99% chance of a reoccurrence within 1 year. I am so blessed. I watched my children turn 30, 38 and 40 this year. I have 5 grand children from 6 to 18 yrs.
I am glad I did not understand the full meaning of Inflammatory. There are less than 5% of cancers in this category. There is an approximate survival rate of 20%. Mine had spread into the chest wall so I was in the low part of that 20%.
I did not spend any time dwelling on the loss of the breast. I was just THANKFUL to still be alive. Having children and working helped me stay BUSY and POSITIVE.
My husband was supportive and did not seem to be bothered by the loss of the breast. He did not look at the scare for some time but I believe that was in sensitivity to me rather than the lack of a breast. I worked in an area that was mostly men. They were also supportive and treated me no differently than they had before. I think that was a huge help in the body image area. Over the years I have received many calls from them and their wife's whenever they or someone they know has a cancer scare.
There is life after cancer and with no breast. Believe me; I am now 62 and feeling wonderful. Photo was taken at age 58. I grew my hair for fun. It is now 18" long. LIFE IS GOOD
Gresham, OR
