A month after my mother passed away from breast and lung cancer, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIB invasive ductal carcinoma meaning the cancer invaded my chest wall, skin, and lymph nodes. There was no lump or any of the classical warning signs except for a tiny skin pucker on my left breast and I thought it was caused by my bra.
My family and I were devastated particularly my kids who watched my mother waste away from the cancer when she lived at my house in her last three months of her life. I told them that there was no way I was gonna lie down and let this cancer take me as well.
During my chemo and radiation, I had my kids doodle on my bald head with washable markers and they played connect the dots with the moles and freckles on my head and had me guess what it was. We got lion, frog, flower, bat, bear, sun, cloud, and palm tree. My husband thought it was so cool and took pictures of my head art.
I finished the treatments in May of 2009 and if cancer dares to mess with me again, no worries 'cause we'll stock up on washable markers and see what else we can get with connect the dots game.
Bountiful, UT
