I was an extremely healthy 63 year-old when my annual mammogram found a small lump in my breast just before Thanksgiving. I was preparing for a lumpectomy when my doctor sent me for an MRI because she did not like the look of all the micro-calcification in my breast. The MRI also found three areas of pre-cancer so, instead of a lumpectomy, I was now going to have a mastectomy. I had surgery two weeks before Christmas and looked forward to starting the new year with the surgery behind me. Then I was told that I had a very nasty, agressive type of cancer and should have chemotherapy.
Luckily I work in an office and sit at a desk because I had to work as much as possible during chemo. I am divorced and needed my paycheck and my insurance. My children are grown but one of my sons took care of me during surgery and chemo. I finished my 6 chemo treatments in May of 2008 and finished a year of Herceptin antibody treatments in January 2008. I feel wonderful and thank God for each new day. My mission in life is to tell everyone I meet how important it is to get mammograms and checkups, and that men can also get breast cancer.
I have a lot of faith in God and I do not worry about what tomorrow will bring. I try to enjoy each and every day to the fullest and am grateful that I am again a happy, healthy 65 year-old.
Margate, FL