IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH !!. Review on Dealing with Cancer

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I know this isn't a subject you really want to read about, but it is a very real subject! A very important subject.and a very scary subject!

Thirteen years ago, I went to the Doctor because every month(around* that* time) my breasts felt lumpy. I was 38 years old and hadn't had a mammogram yet. So, my Doctor suggested a mammogram.

I called and made my appointment for the mammogram and was given an appointment 3 days later.

I entered the office, sat and waited and when my turn came, I was shown into a room with a big ominous looking contraption. I disrobed and found myself standing before a machine that the technician proceeded to squash my breasts in. Not once, not twice, not even 3 times. But four times for each breast.

I was then asked to get dressed and my Doctor would call me with the results in about a week.

Two days went by and I got a call from my Doctor's office.'Please, come in this afternoon! The Doctor would like to see you!'

OMG! I'm a nervous wreck driving to the office.

I'm seen immediately!(OMG)

I get the news from the Doctor.Both mammograms are showing up with some'uneasy looking' shadows.

I go for a second opinion.and a third.

Diagnosis was:

Left breast.Invasive cancer. Cancer that has already spread beyond the lymph nodes and lobules, into the surrounding breast tissue.

Right breast.Early cancer. Cancer that has not yet spread to the lymph nodes or tissue.

Now it was time for the decisions. I wasn't given many choices. Choice 1 was do nothing and die.(NOT an option!) Second choice was, a lumpectomy in the right breast and a mastectomy in the left. Third choice was a double mastectomy(recommended by 2 Doctors). After choice 2 or 3 there would be radiation therapy and chemotherapy. This was the hardest decision in my life! I opted for the double mastectomy, with radiation and NO chemotherapy.

Thirteen years have passed, I've gotten used to my new'appearance', and I've found a wonderful man who couldn't care less about my'less than perfect body.'

But now I'd like to share a little information with you all.

Breast cancer strikes 1 in 8 women! And 1 in about 250 men!(YES, men)

There are about 185, 000 new cases per year.

Approximately 40, 000 women die from breast cancer per year.

The causes range from, inherited factors, defects in genes, to mostly unknown causes.

It can stay confined for many years with no sign of the disease, or it can strike.1-2-3.BAM!

Mine was caught in time. It's been over 13 years now.

My mother was not so lucky. About the same time that I was diagnosed, she was too. But she told us(much too late) that her symptoms were around for about a year before she asked for help. She was diagnosed with cancer in her right breast, had a mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy. But, hers became what is known as metastatic. It spread. From her breast, to the nodes, to her liver, spine and brain. Mom lived a few very painful and unhappy years.

So, to my point. PLEASE! Go for your yearly mammogram, don't put it off until tomorrow! Don't ignore any signs of any body changes.  (Women age 40-44  every other year.Ages 45-50  every year.Over 50, as recommended by your Doctor.)

Take it from me, I know!