……..October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Breast Cancer will strike one in eight women in the United States and each of us in the deep recesses of our mind believe we will be that one. I was one in eight and I will tell you I always had a fatalistic outlook that sometime in my life the mammogram wouldn’t come back clear. 

………Why then was I so surprised? I had over fifty years to prepare and yet the moment which found me with my radiologist and my daughter staring at the mammogram results brought a reaction of “This can’t be happening to me.” I saw the tumor, heard the size of the tumor and learned about how cells divide and didn’t absorb a word. Shannon was there and luckily she remembered everything. All I remember was the word cancer…….and sobbing.

…..A visit to the breast surgeon a few days later, revealed I was one of the lucky women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. My tumor was totally encapsulated and had not spread to nearby tissue or the lymph gland so chemo wouldn’t be necessary. The size of the tumor also meant I was a candidate for Mammosite, where the delivery of the radiation would be delivered directly through a port twice a day for seven days. Normally, radiation is every day for six weeks.

…….I’m a great “putter offer” which means I could delay making appointments til eternity. At the time, however, I was Board President of CHANGE, Inc., and our Breast Cancer Awareness was in full swing. How could I urge other women to get a mammogram if I was too busy and scared to do it myself? I knew early detection could save your life. And, so I did make that appoint; have that mammogram; and had a lumpectomy. I like to think that the awareness campaign may have saved my life.

…….At five years I was deemed cancer free. Every year, I would face my worst fear and go have the mammogram. Each time, I showed no sign of the Cancer returning. It’s that time again, and yes, I will make that appointment.

……The fear of breast cancer is a free floating fear. Each year organizations and businesses devote resources to make women aware of early detection and I think those campaigns are something we, who have walked that road and been on that journey, should support the awareness campaign not only financially but also by our participation.

……I found that once the doctor explained what would happen; why it would happen; and what time frame it would happen in, I calmed down. We had a plan to attack the Cancer. A friend loaned me the book by Dr. Susan Love, entitled Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book. I devoured it and had many of my questions answered. I would recommend anyone faced with breast cancer and the friend/spouse/family who will travel the journey with her to read it. I just bought a copy for a woman who is getting ready to go through chemo.

……….I found that knowing everything you can about Breast Cancer means you are empowered as you embark on this journey. Knowledge is power and if ever there is a time women need to take control of their own bodies. and their own treatment it is when they learn they have Breast Cancer. And, chances are if you are not the one with Breast Cancer, there is someone you know going through it. This is the time to ask what you can do to help to make that journey a little easier.