In April 2005 I had my annual mammogram which turned out normal, I took that for granted and didn't expect anything otherwise. I was looking forward to my oldest son's college graduation in May, another 'first' as a parent and was so looking forward to that proud day. On April 24th as I was eating breakfast, I wiped away crumbs that spilled down the front of my shirt. As I wiped right down the center of my shirt, it felt like I was bruised. Upon further inspection, there wasn't a bruise, it was a pea size lump that hurt like a bruise. The lump was located on the right side of the sternum bone, kinda where your lymph nodes would run. I immediately became alarmed and thought it might be lymphoma as that is what took my mother's life. As it turns out, it was in fact breast cancer. The tumor wasn't detected in my April mammogram because of where it was located. So, as I write this, I want all of you to be sure to include both sides of your sternum when you do your monthly self exams. If it weren't for being a messy eater that day, I'm not sure I would have found my tumor so quickly.
For those of you who have been through this, you know the drill. You start out with an ultrasound that leads to a biopsy. Of course, getting in for the test and waiting for the results is the hardest part. So, as I went to my son's graduation, I was in the waiting to get in for a first appointment. As it turns out, that was a good thing because I am a gambling gal and was thinking optimistically that I will not be that one out of eight so I didn't worry about it at all. We had a great time at graduation with family and friends and no one knew anything about it as I was certain there wouldn't be anything to tell.
By the end of May, I had completed my ultrasound and biopsy and the Friday before Memorial Day I got the call, you know, the one you are certain they will say "it's benign, nothing to worry about, have a great weekend". Well, that wasn't my message. It was more like, "I wish I had better news but wanted to let you know as soon as possible, yada,yada..." you are on your own...I wasn't prepared for that at all. Where was my "everything is fine" line, I was cheated! I wanted that message, surely you have mixed up the results with someone else...
That was the wake up call I had to answer...how was I going to handle this news? Well, the good news is, I had a long weekend to get used to it. The bad news is, it was my news. Needless to say it wasn't the best Memorial Day weekend I ever had!
Stay tuned to hear about the next steps I took and how I told the family...
On a brighter note, getting to 'today'...we had a fantastic 4th of July weekend as we spent it with family at our 47th family reunion!! Yes, you read it correctly, 47th!!! It was great, we are already planning for the 50th!
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and are blessed with friends and family that you don't take for granted. It's true that you don't get to pick your family, but it is also true that your friends are gifts to yourselves :-)
For those of you who have been through this, you know the drill. You start out with an ultrasound that leads to a biopsy. Of course, getting in for the test and waiting for the results is the hardest part. So, as I went to my son's graduation, I was in the waiting to get in for a first appointment. As it turns out, that was a good thing because I am a gambling gal and was thinking optimistically that I will not be that one out of eight so I didn't worry about it at all. We had a great time at graduation with family and friends and no one knew anything about it as I was certain there wouldn't be anything to tell.
By the end of May, I had completed my ultrasound and biopsy and the Friday before Memorial Day I got the call, you know, the one you are certain they will say "it's benign, nothing to worry about, have a great weekend". Well, that wasn't my message. It was more like, "I wish I had better news but wanted to let you know as soon as possible, yada,yada..." you are on your own...I wasn't prepared for that at all. Where was my "everything is fine" line, I was cheated! I wanted that message, surely you have mixed up the results with someone else...
That was the wake up call I had to answer...how was I going to handle this news? Well, the good news is, I had a long weekend to get used to it. The bad news is, it was my news. Needless to say it wasn't the best Memorial Day weekend I ever had!
Stay tuned to hear about the next steps I took and how I told the family...
On a brighter note, getting to 'today'...we had a fantastic 4th of July weekend as we spent it with family at our 47th family reunion!! Yes, you read it correctly, 47th!!! It was great, we are already planning for the 50th!
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and are blessed with friends and family that you don't take for granted. It's true that you don't get to pick your family, but it is also true that your friends are gifts to yourselves :-)
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