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Breast Cancer Survivor |
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Marianne |
It was the beginning of
May 1990 as I started my monthly breast exam. All of a sudden I
felt something that hadn't been there the month before. I
immediately called my husband and had him feel it. Yes, there
was something there but we were each trying to convince the
other that it was probably a cyst or something else but not
cancer. I decided to wait a few weeks before going to the
doctor. Those were the longest weeks of my life.
Finally on May 18th I decided to call my family physician. When
he examined me I knew by the look on his face that it wasn't
good. He said, "with your permission I would like to
schedule a mammogram and an appointment with a surgeon." He
recommended a surgeon that he was familiar with and we went for
my mammogram and then waited for the surgeon. When he arrived he
checked both me and the mammogram and said "we are going to
do a biopsy." Of course this was a Friday so we had to wait
the weekend for the results. Monday came and the news was not
good. Yes, it was cancer. We returned to the surgeons office to
discuss our options. We had pretty much made up our minds as to
what we wanted, he agreed that a modified radical mastectomy was
the best choice for my particular situation. Surgery was set for
May 24, 1990 at noon. This is the day that changed my life
forever.
Surgery went well, my left breast was removed along with 23
lymph nodes. One lymph node came back positive and I started six
months of chemotherapy which consisted of Methotrexate, 5FU and
Cytoxan. I had no problem with my chemo, just a little nausea,
and I lost part but not all of my hair. I did not have radiation
or reconstructive surgery. I did relaxation and visualization
techniques all during my chemo and I still listen to one tape
every night when I go to bed. I really believe that this has
helped my recovery. I have kept a positive attitude through all
of this. Yes, it is scary at times but we have to look for the
positive things in life. Cancer has changed my life for the
better. I no longer think I am super Mom and I stop to smell the
roses along the way and enjoy each day to its fullest.
My husband has been by my side through this entire journey for
which I am very grateful. We have headed up a support group in
our area, spoken to the doctors at our local hospital and also
at Cancer Survivors Day. I have also given a speech at Cancer
Awareness doings, and was recently made co-founder of Breast
Cancer Support Group on the Web. We posts messages to each
other and have scheduled chat sessions. I belong to Yahoo Cancer
Chat and volunteer for R A Bloch Cancer Hotline. I really enjoy
chatting and helping both breast cancer and cancer patients.
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