I just turned 30 three months before. On this particular day I bought a magazine while at the grocery store. It contained a whole section on women's diseases which I chose not to read. My grandmother had recently died from breast cancer and I already knew how devastating it was.
That night, while getting ready for bed, I removed my bra. I ran my hands around my breasts and on the right breast I felt a thickening which I had not felt before. I panicked. I picked up the new magazine and read the part about breast cancer.
I was in the Doctor's office the next morning. He sent me to the surgeon that afternoon. The surgeon tried to put my mind at ease. He said not to worry, it was just a cyst and I could make arrangements in 3 or 4 days to have it removed. At that point I was so worried that he decided we would do the surgery the next morning. I was sedated and taken to surgery, and totally unbeknownst to me, the thickening was malignant. My left breast was removed along with all of the muscle, lymph nodes and any tissue that was in the involved site. They had performed a radical mastectomy. When I woke up I was in a great deal of pain and put my hand on my left breast and realized it was gone. At that point I didn't know if I was more upset about having cancer or losing my breast. I cried a lot!!
Due to the fact that the tumor was so small, no chemo or radiation was ordered. Even though I felt relieved that I found this so early (early detection) I was devestated at being so disfigured.
Looking back though, I'm glad the radical mastectomy was performed. I feel it saved my life. You see, the surgery was done in 1967. I am now 77 rears old and a 47 year breast cancer surviver. I pray that my story will give hope to some of my Pink Sisters out there.
Shelby Township, MI