Early Detection saved our lives. I was diagnosed during an annual mammogram at the age of 44, and sent all my family and friends for mammograms - never expecting my sister, at the age of 39, to also be diagnosed just six weeks after me. We were both Stage 2, Grade 3 IDC, and have undergone numerous surgeries with several setbacks; but we are alive today and able to fight, because our cancer was caught in the early stage. I now scream from the mountaintops and remind every woman I see to have her mammogram! Do not put it off - your life may depend on it.
Because we were sisters, and fighting Breast Cancer at the same time (still have trouble comprehending this at times), we were sent for genetic testing. While I was found to have a genetic mutation, my sister was not (and we were tested and re-tested!). The geneticists are still pondering this outcome. Based on the mutation, we both chose to remove our other breast, and have a hysterectomy.
So together we had our mastectomies, our rounds of chemo, lost our hair (we both rocked the bald!), began our reconstruction, had our hysterectomies, and both experienced setbacks which delayed our healing. It's incredibly difficult to have this disease at the same time as your sister, because it leaves you very little time to comfort one another. A cruel twist of fate, in my opinion.
But we are survivors, and humbled by the support and love we have received from our husbands, our children, our family and friends. We are both back to work full time and trying to regain some sense of normalcy. But mostly, we are thankful we were detected early, and that we are SURVIVORS!
Baltimore, MD
