I coach Varsity girls' high school volleyball. Our season was just beginning with tryouts and practices. This fall was also our 5th annual "Dig Pink" volleyball game to fundraise and raise awareness for Breast Cancer.
I had my annual mammogram in August and a week later got a call back for a second one. The radiologist met with me and showed me the cluster of Microcalcifications and suggested a biopsy. In September, I had a Stereotactic Core Biopsy on 2 separate areas. One came back negative but the other was positive for cancer. I have no family history of the disease in my family as far as I know. Besides telling my family, sharing this news with my team was very difficult and emotional. It has been a whirlwind of emotions but my family and team kept me in good spirits, positive and focused. We raised a little more than $8500 this season which put us at about $13,000 for the past 5 years!
I had a partial mastectomy in November and started 7 weeks of radiation in December. My prognosis is 100% survival rate and I am glad that I go for my annual mammograms. I will continue with my Breast Cancer Awareness game and also with being very open about what I have gone through in hopes that other women will not put off getting their mammograms.
Millbury, MA
