Around the last quarter of 2005, I found a lump on my right breast.. Then it was getting bigger and heavier. I went to see my surgeon & had it aspirated. She said it wasn't cancerous. In March the following year, I was due for my yearly mammogram. I knew something wasn't right when they asked me to go back for more pictures. I was scheduled for ultrasound. There was no 3-D imaging at that time. Then I had my biopsy. I got a call from my surgeon the day after my biopsy to see her ASAP. So my husband & I went in the next day. During the office visit, I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. I cried bucket of tears. I thought of my 2 wonderful sons in their teenage years (rough age for boys). My surgeon wants to take it out ASAP since she doesn't know if it is contained or it is a metastatic cancer. If it is the latter, then my days are numbered !I was scheduled for surgery on a Good Friday at 3:00 pm. Being a Catholic, it is very significant for me. The hardest part was before surgery when they have to insert a wire and at the same time I have to have a mammogram to check if the wire inserted is in the right place. The surgery was successful.
The next ordeal was whether I should do chemo or not - that was the option given to me by my oncologist. I asked the advice of my classmate who is a pathologist in CT. My classmate told me that I was still young and undergoing chemo will damage my good cells. I took “tamoxifen” for 5 years and side effects were cysts (had surgeries to take them out). 8 years later, I am still here and so blessed. My life may not be perfect. It is full of challenges. But it is part of humanity. I know that God is with me all the time in this earthly journey of mine.
Fairfax County, VA