Skip to main content

Just a Touch of cancer

There it is, in black and white and on the Internet.

So it must be true.

I have a touch of cancer. (A tumor, 3 mm to be exact, in my left breast).

I discovered the lump, when it was but a babe, maybe half the size, last August. I had had a mammogram scheduled but cancelled it.

WHAT????? I can hear you all screaming at me now. You cancelled your mammogram after you found a lump? And you have two sisters and two aunts that have had breast cancer? WTF??? (for my kinder, gentler readers that WTF stands for Well That's Freaky).

Yes, I cancelled the mammo because I had a trip of a lifetime planned for October with my handsome hubby of 30 years. And I did not want to:
A. Possibly cancel the trip of a lifetime;
B. Put a possible cloud of doom and gloom over Ireland while on our trip of a lifetime;
C. Let my wonderful hubby of 30 years know about the lump because he would have worried and fretted and argued vehemently (He's an attorney after all) that the trip should be postponed until we knew if the lump was cancer.

And we went to Ireland and London and had a most wonderful time. If you saw the gazillion posts and pics on Facebook, you know how wonderful.

And when we returned, I made the call to schedule another mammo. But when a few weeks later it was getting larger and tender, I made the calls to switch it from a routine mammo to a diagnostic one that included an ultrasound. The appointment was for Christmas Eve. The doc reviewed the images and told us that it was highly likely that the tumor was malignant, based on my age and previous MRI images from less than a year ago when there wasn't a any sign of a growth.

Merry Christmas. Not sure if the three not so little Piggins thought this same way, but John and I were grateful they were all home so we could share the news. 

Unfortunately, they have had to deal with sick parents on too many occasions. Besides my MS, John's throat cancer 9 years ago and his heart attack four years (or was it five?) ago- they've weathered their unfair share. I hope this means that when we're old, we'll be a breeze to deal with!! Know what I mean??

It's good it's early, stage II, and breast cancer treatment has come a long way.

But the best part, for me, is that I got that trip to Ireland before the diagnosis so now I know where I want to go to celebrate recovery. Or I think I know, Galway or Adare or Waterford?????

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Friday Night Lights

Friday night lights were blazing last week - when for the first time in the history of our little town, the Saugatuck Indians clinched the district title! You can see the sheer joy on Matthew's face and the pride in his father's eyes in the picture above. Leading up to and during the game, there were several things that made the victory even more sweet. The first being that the sports writers in the area, to a person, all predicted the opponents, Climax-Scotts, to win. They'd had a perfect season - until Friday. The second was that we had to travel quite a distance (nearly 90 minutes) to get to the game. And the weather was frigid and snow was blowing - thankfully it was blowing towards the Climax-Scotts stands and was at our backs. And then our quarterback injured his shoulder and had to sit out for a good portion of the game. Thankfully, the replacement quarterback (a sophomore called up for the playoffs from the junior varsity team) did not let the stress effect his ...

The world according to Gimp

  I understand that there are those who may believe my use of the term 'gimp' is derogatory or demeaning. I do not use it lightly or to belittle anyone, it's just a lot easier for me to than 'disabled' or 'handicapped' because it uses a little snark or humor to something that could use a little of that. Or in this case, I specifically want to make light of my situation so that it doesn't feel depressing. For you or me. Let me try to explain.  One of my pet peeves is the look of sympathy I get from well-meaning people. Like, "Aw, sweetie, I am so sorry that you are less abled, confined to a wheelchair and less able to live the full, active life that I lead."  I am in a wheelchair most of the time and my life is different because of that but in truth I never wanted to run a marathon of play pickleball or climb Mt. Baldhead (I've done the latter too many times usually bringing up the rear of the group I was with and/or being cheered on by the ...

Poster Child for chemo and freak of nature

I made the comment to my oncologist last week, during my chemo infusion, that I could be a poster child for chemo.  "You pretty much are," she said. I have thus far been sailing through chemo, albeit like a sailboat stuck out in the middle of Lake Michigan when the winds die and it's not moving for three to four days. Because my primary side effect has been extreme fatigue for 3-4 days post chemo. Last Saturday, 2 days post chemo, I took my shower and got dressed and announced to John that I now needed a nap - that kind of fatigue.  And being a woman who has dealt with the fatigue of MS, I thought this chemo kind would be familiar and similar to the exhaustion I feel on a hot summer day where retrieving the mail (our mailbox is at the end of our driveway) while riding my scooter to get it  feels like I've run a 5K. That kind of fatigue. This is the kind that makes it difficult to even get up, needing a nap after getting out of bed. Well that might be a little ...