After taking care of my mother for almost a year through her treatment for Lymphoma, I thought for a moment that life would get back to “normal” when her treatment was complete and we learned her PET scan was clear. It was the best news I had heard in as long as I could remember but it barely lasted through the week…
I had been so run down and tired for so long that it had become the norm. I had seen a doctor a few weeks prior and had a mammogram but, being in my thirties, none of the doctors were terribly concerned. I had a lump under my arm that I had discovered during a self-breast exam but my doctors attributed it to chronic fatigue and so on but we went ahead with the testing for good measure. I don’t think anyone ever thought a week after my mother completed her treatment I would be getting a cancer diagnosis of my own.
Within a few months I had a total, bilateral mastectomy and began reconstruction. I was terrified but, the moment my head stopped spinning, I starting thinking of ways I could help others. I started training for a marathon and donated all the money I collected to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society eight months after my mastectomy. I became active in the American Cancer Society and I began donating my time to organizations I believe in.
Cancer could have broken me if I let it but helping others helped me. There were days it would have been much easier to feel sorry for myself but giving back made me grateful for every moment and it made me feel hopeful that I may be able to provide that hope for someone else.
New York, NY
