In January of 2008, I noticed that my left breast was moving differently than it had before. I briefly considered "cancer", as I guiltily remembered skipping what were supposed to be my baseline mammograms. But, I waited another two months before finally seeing my doctor. She looked, told me it was likely nothing (it in no way felt like any of the lumps in the model breast they give you for practice self-exams), but decided to send me for a diagnostic scan. The scans revealed that, at 43, with no family history, no known risk factors, I had Stage III breast cancer.
I've been through the whole slash and burn treatment program; full mastectomy/reconstruction on the left side, chemo, radiation, and now hormone treatments. This is a horrible disease, and the treatments take so much of what you were away from you, it's so much more than just losing a breast/breasts. I miss how sex used to be for me, and that's never coming back. I feel like they've made me into an old lady all at once. There isn't a part of a woman's body that isn't negatively affected by estrogen loss.
Word of warning: recent research shows a link between melatonin suppression and breast cancer (see Mayo Clinic's studies on this). Also, there seems to be some connection between low thyroid and breast cancer, although it's not clear yet what it is. I had both of these things, and I am sure it's a big part of the "why" for me.
I'm fighting through this, day by day, with God's help. I know, overall, I'll come out of this certainly stronger, and in some ways, healthier than I was before, but I do wish I could have found it earlier and avoided some of the more devastating treatments.
Somewhere, WI