Monday, October 3, 2005, was a warm fall day. I went to work just like I did on any other day, but I was glad that I was leaving at 11:30 for a doctor’s appointment because I had some errands to run afterwards. Unfortunately I didn’t run those errands, because the outcome of the doctor’s appointment was not at all what I had expected. That was the day I was told I had breast cancer.

    I was only 46, with two young daughters at home. The cancer came as a complete shock. I had been really confident that everything was fine, because approximately a year before I had gone through several biopsies that found nothing wrong. Now I was told that there was one definite area of cancer, which would mean a lumpectomy with radiation and possibly chemotherapy. My surgeon said that a second area had shown up on the MRI and they wanted to go back and check, so I was scheduled for an MRI-assisted biopsy on Wednesday, October 5.

    On Friday, October 7, I was given the final diagnosis: left mastectomy with no radiation and probably no chemo. Needless to say, I was devastated and the time between that day and October 27, the day of my surgery, is like a blur to me now. After the surgery, my doctors determined that I would not be a good candidate for chemo. However, I received a different opinion from a doctor who believed in treating the cancer aggressively with chemo, even though she said the possibility of it being successful in preventing a recurrence was low. I decided not to go that route and have not regretted that decision at all.

    So, I’ve had it fairly easy compared to some—no chemo or radiation, no pain after any of the surgeries or procedures I’ve gone through. I’ve seen my situation described as having “a little bit of cancer,” but there is no such thing. No two situations are alike and everyone goes through this differently, but cancer is cancer. 

    My husband was my main support through everything. He took four weeks off of work, from the time I was told until a week after my surgery, and he was my personal nurse. He took care of the house, the kids—everything. I don’t know how I would have done it without him.

    It’s now been a little over a year and I’m still not completely over it emotionally, but that’s something I handle privately. It’s still on my mind constantly and the thought of recurrence is there, but it doesn’t stop me from living my life. I think that’s very important for my two daughters to see. I’m still the same old mom.

    I didn’t tell them all the gory details, but I did emphasize to them the fact that I caught it early by not ignoring what I felt even though I was a bit scared. I’m not an overly religious person, but I thank God that I found it early and did something about it. If I hadn’t, it probably would have been a completely different outcome for me. So my advice to women is to go for your yearly mammograms, and if you see a change, don’t ignore it. It’s a scary situation to be in, but you can get through it!