Turned My Life Around

by Fiona
(Lynnwood)

I am a breast cancer survivor. The road was a long and difficult one and the daily struggles always threatened to overcome me, but with the help of my family and several dedicated doctors, I managed to come through and survive it as well as come to terms with the changes that the cancer had had on my body.
Everyone grows up with a fear of cancer to some degree, though not a fully conscious one; we grow up and hear about people who have been stricken with cancer, but most of the time we hear it as a passive story. Most people don't take the time and think, "This could happen to me." Even I didn't take that time aside to think about it, and I had a history of diagnosed breast cancer in my family. Though I went to get annual mammograms in order to assure that I was cancer-free, it was mostly a passive answer; I was always sure that I would not get it. I performed the recommended self-checks only once or twice a year because of how confident I was.
But then, four years ago, when I went in for my annual mammogram, my doctor came back to me with bad news. He informed me that there was a suspicious lump on my left breast and that it was probably nothing, but that I should schedule a follow up appointment soon just to make sure. You would expect that I would have panicked at this, but I didn't. My family was strapped for money at the time, helping to put our oldest through college, and so I put off the follow-up appointment, confident that the doctor's belief that it was a false alarm was correct. The next year when I went in for my annual mammogram, the doctor informed me that there was no doubt about it and that I had breast cancer. I had no choice now but to try whatever treatments I could, and I ended up trying several different methods, though none of them seemed to be successful; I finally ended up going through chemotherapy, and although it exhausted me and drained me both physically and mentally, it was unsuccessful. Devastated, I had no idea what to do; ultimately, I ended up having to get my left breast removed to prevent the cancer from spreading. Although it has only been a little over two years ago since it was removed, I have been cancer-free since then. I always have the worry that it will crop up again and so I make sure to take careful care and often do what checks I can to make sure that there are no early warning signs. I believe that the cancer was isolated and removed, but I fear remission.

Through it all, I have learned just how grateful I am for my family; even when I was at my worst in the middle of chemotherapy, they stood by me to make sure that I could endure and never wavered for even a moment; words can't express how grateful I am. As we went through the deepest and darkest nights of my cancer, they helped me learn to live life to the fullest and this has stuck with me since I have gotten rid of it. Such a close shave with death truly showed me how valuable life is to me and so I live each day to the fullest and recommend that you do the same.
This is not all the advice that I have, though. For all of you out there, I would recommend keeping your checkups frequent and making sure that you follow up on any suspicious activity noted by your doctor; it just might change your life like it has mine. Here's hoping to you being breast-cancer free!