This month I am an 11 month Breast Cancer survivor.
I’m sending thank you notes to all my family and surgeons who have been such an enormous help and support during this surprising time in my life. Chocolate is also part of the celebration.
One day at age 55, I happened to discover a small lump during a breast self-exam. Since I had small breasts the lump was easy to feel, and not painful.
My father had died 3 months earlier, work had been hectic, so I thought stress had probably caused the lump.
Since it was time for a mammogram, I went in, and upon finishing the exam I was told that I was fine.
There was no family history, and yet for some reason which I cannot explain, I felt I needed more testing.
Additional scans and biopsies showed multiple cancerous areas in one breast. What a shock that was to me! Like my body had betrayed me !
I asked to have the other breast checked also, which revealed lots of questions about whether it might also be cancerous.
Instead of taking a chance, I decided on a double mastectomy.
I was truly more scared than ever before in my life. And now I’m telling everyone - The surgery wasn’t as awful as I had imagined !
Since I had a small-sized chest, we got the cancer so early, I didn't need chemo or radiation.
And now I am cancer free ! And able to talk about the blessings of self-exams and trusting your instincts.
My message is to push for further evaluation if you’re not sure what’s going on.
Because there is so much that the medical profession can be do for us these days !!!
Memphis, TN