In May 2013, at age 42, I received a call from the doctor to return for a follow-up mammogram. That night I went with my boss to a Ladies' Night Out event about breast cancer. I remember leaning over to her and saying that I hoped that wasn't an omen. The following day I returned for the mammogram, followed immediately by an ultrasound, and biopsy referral. I saw the tumor on the ultrasound, and somehow knew I was dealing with something. I started praying while looking at that little tumor and thanked God for making me strong and asked that He use this experience to strengthen me and my family. I needed the strength. On May 21st I was told that I had invasive ductile carcinoma and DCIS in my right breast. On July 3rd, I had a bilateral mastectomy, the start of reconstruction, and a sentinel node biopsy. The biopsy during surgery looked fine, but the next day they found cancer cells, so I had to return to surgery on July 17th to have several lymph nodes removed.
I went through 16 infusions of chemotherapy. My last infusion was December 18, 2013. That was an amazing Christmas gift! Physically this journey has been hard. But I decided to be open about it and I have been blessed. The support and generosity of others has been amazing. I continued to work as much as possible through out it all, and I kept a smile on my face - although there were tears too. My family and I maintained a sense of humor, making jokes about missing nipples and losing my hair in mass while my husband was watching the conehead movie (surely there is some irony there!). My husband, parents, brothers and three children were there every step of the way when I needed them. I'm learning that cancer never leaves you, even when it is gone. I feel like I'll be holding my breath for years, waiting to see "what if." But I also know this experience has made me a better person.
Clay Center, KS
