I was 21 years old when I found the lump. It was about pea-sized, about 2 inches above the areola of my left breast.
I think I was in my 3rd year of the computer engineering program at the University of Manitoba. I was having trouble with my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend, my parents,... and Modern Physics... or was it Physical Electronics? Anyway, it was March, final exams were coming up, and I was stressed out about everything. It was bad, and I didn't think things could get any worse.
And that's when I found it.
The day after finals, I went in for Day Surgery at the Misericordia Hospital. I corrected the breast they were going to operate on (yeah, they were going to open up the wrong one), got dressed in my green gown, was wheeled into surgery, and before I knew it, was being wheeled into Recovery lump-free.
A week later, we received the call that the lump was benign, and all was well. I was sent away with instructions to continue doing my monthly breast exams. Nothing more was required.
It's been 17 years. A long time. The details are sketchy, but the images are still crystal clear...
my sister smiling bravely for me, my friends' hugs and other wordless shows of support, my best-friend-before-he-became-the-love-of-my-life Roomie respectfully resisting getting creeped out when I offered to let him feel the lump and our friend Maja sitting beside him trying not to freak out because she had just felt it, the glaring absence of my "boyfriend" during my days of recovery, and my mother gently putting down the telephone saying a silent prayer of thanksgiving that her daughter was safe.
I think back to all those images of the people I love and who love me to this day, and I'm so very thankful that I was one of the lucky ones.
But there are so many who aren't as lucky.
They are still bravely fighting, their loved ones by their side. Let's do our part and join the fight. Here are some ways we can do it...
1: Wear pink and spread the word.
2: Walk, run, or just volunteer for one of the many marathons taking place in your town.
3: Buy a Bionic Beauty shirt: For every pink Bionic Beauty T Shirt sold during the month of October, Jami will donate $1.00 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
4: Have a blog? Get a pink ribbon image from nbcam.org and place it prominently on your site for the month of October.
5: You can even SHOP and support the fight to end breast cancer.
6: Organize your own fundraising event.
For more, check out the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation website.
Do you have a story? Any more ideas to help in the fight? Please feel free to share.
I just can't imagine how terrifying it would be to be in that sort of position. I hope that with each additional awareness and helping hand we get another step closer to winning the fight.
ReplyDeletethat sounds incredibly intense....esp. going through that as a young woman. I am so sorry to hear about the heartache re: the *then boyfriend*, I can only imagine how hurtful that must have been. So glad to hear you are able to write about it now.....
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story
;-)
Thanks for sharing your story, even though it was 17 years ago I am sure it made a huge impact on you and you are a shining example that life does go on after cancer! My mom is an 11 year survivor. She shared her story on my blog as well.
ReplyDeleteTogether we can fight this disease. Thank you for being a supporter of breast cancer month!