Breast Cancer was My New Beginning

Five years ago, I went in for my annual mammogram as I had been doing for more than a decade. As usual, I thought nothing further about it until I received the telephone call from my doctor advising me that there was "something suspicious" on the x-ray and that I should come in immediately to discuss it because she needed to take a closer look at it. Fear gripped me immediately, as I started to imagine all the worse scenarios I could conjure up in my mind. I kept hearing her voice over and over in my saying, "You have breast cancer." Still gripped by fear I went to the doctor's office where she proceeded to explain her suspicions and to tell me that I needed to have a biopsy. Still in the throngs of fear we scheduled to have the procedure performed. Her suspicions were confirmed. I had breast cancer.

My treatment was a lumpectomy and 8 weeks of radiation therapy. I declined the oral chemotherapy, which I understood would have increased my success rate by an additional 10 percent. When I considered my general health and the side effects of the chemotherapy, I knew that I had made the right choice for me at the time. Which brings me to the most important things that I've learned as a breast cancer survivor: 1) I had to take responsibility and be involved in my treatment and care; and 2) I couldn't go back to life and business as usual. I had changed. I felt as if I had faced the enemy called death and lived to tell about it. This may sound melodramatic and/or delusional but it has given me a different perspective on my life and what really matters.