I had already been going to Dr after Dr because of a terrible fall I took in 1993 which put me out of work permanently. I went to my obgyn for an annual check up.She found a small lump in my left breast and ordered a mamogram. There was nothing wrong with my left breast but the fantastic radiologist that read my x-ray, found 8 small calcifcations in my right breast.There was a wire guided byopsy done to find it was all cancer. I had my right breast and all my lymph nodes under my right arm, removed in 1999. I remember the day I took the bandages off to reveal my 57 staples I had across my chest, and my oldest daughter standing on the other side of the bathroom door asked me if I was ok. My reply thru the tears and crying was, " No and I never will be again." I am happy to report that I am still cancer free. But missing a breast that I can not afford to have replaced which makes a person feel very depressed at times and certainly makes you not want to wear a bathing suit or go out in public very much. I try to stay up-beat and enjoy life to it's fullest. My children , grand children and gr grand children help to do this. I hope anyone that has to have a breast removed, has the insurance to have some appropriate kind of surgery to make them look as normal as possible. God Bless all of you women ...
Marlene BassettKaukauna, WI
