My Breast Cancer Journal Part 1
Breast Cancer is a disease that touches everyone lives. 1 out of 8 women get diagnosed with some form of breast cancer. I was diagnosed in January 2021. Here is my story…
The Diagnosis - Jounal entry 2/7/21
Hi friends:
As many of you already know, I have recently been diagnosed with a very common breast cancer, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. The great news is that biopsies show an early detection and findings of Stage 1. As if being under the shadow of Covid 19 and all its ramifications wasn’t enough! Right? However, I do feel like I have joined a club as it has been amazing to find so many of you who have successfully battled this before me – so now it is my turn to kick cancer’s ass.
After some initial challenges with scheduling at Houston Methodist, I’ve decided to take my journey to MD Anderson. Through many references (including some of you reading this) we are pleased that I’ll be working with a well-known and reputable team of doctors. As this is a new medical team looking at my case, I’ll be going through another round of diagnostics beginning this Friday, February 11th and then meeting with the team of Medical and Surgical oncologists on Monday the 15th to come up with our game plan. There are still alot of unknowns, so needless to say, I am desperately (sounds weird) looking forward to moving forward and having a plan.
Thanks For Your Support
Many thanks to you all for reaching out to see how you can help and to find out how I am doing. The notes, cards, messages, devotionals, prayers, cuddly gifts and encouragement have been wonderful and greatly comforting! Thank you! Selfishly may I request you don’t stop? You know me, the more the merrier, LOL!
I had No Idea How Time Consuming Cancer could Be
One thing I didn’t realize about cancer, is how time consuming it is! You know me, I like to do it all, everyday! Tennis, Cabi, make lunch, chores, make dinner, hang with the family. Where does cancer fit in? It doesn’t! Unfortunately, now it is chewing up my time. Managing the complexity of the treatment plan, spending hours on the phone with insurance, scheduling appointments and wanting to have meaningful conversations with each of you that mean so much to me! It has all left me chasing the daylight. So, my very dear and sweet friend Katie, who is also a courageous breast cancer warrior herself, has persuaded me to start this site so we can keep you all updated and informed (and we’ll do our very best to do both). Alex, Arne, Andrew and I are extremely grateful for all your support, prayers, help, and good vibes. Having always been the person that would take a meal or offer to help someone else in need, I have found it hard to accept that we now need to be on the receiving end! So, I’m hoping this site can help in a multitude of ways and also help me to identify areas where I would appreciate some help.
A Tiny Lecture for you After a Lesson I Learned the hard way
Ladies, if you haven’t had your annual mammogram, pick up the phone NOW and make an appointment. I actually lightheartedly posted in IG a reminder to get your check up, not knowing at all that I had cancer. I did not feel the 2cm tumor growing in my left breast. I was always religious about my annual mammogram but the disruption of returning to the US meant I missed the scans for 3 years! Had I not had a mammogram, it’s impossible to know how long it would have gone undetected. So please, go get it done and use the preventative methods we have to detect this shitty disease before it’s too late.
Thanks for reading. Keep the prayers and vibes coming for the MD Anderson crew to confirm a Stage 1 diagnosis. More to come ….
Love you all loads,
Susan
If you are looking for a place to get a mammogram, just ask your OBGYN.
The technology these days is amazing and you will get your results almost immediately.
Please don’t delay this important act of self care. You and your loved ones deserve it!
For local ladies, below is the information on MDAnderson in the Houston Medical Center.
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