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discovery day
I should have written about it at the time, right after I heard “tumors” in the context of my right breast but it took 17 calendar days before I could actually put pen to paper. Sort of. It’s all too common, apparently – all too acceptable. Somewhere between taking a shower and putting on deodorant, on a Saturday like any other, I discovered a thickening, a lumpish thing above the nipple of my right breast. Inexplicably, within a split second of feeling it, I began sobbing, as if my body already knew. I called my husband into the bathroom. He usually doesn’t respond so quickly, especially when he’s reading the newspaper,…
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BRCA genes, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Language, Diagnosis, Dispatch from the Diaspora, Early Detection, Family history, Mammograms
myths that matter
Cancer has settled into our house, with its attendant complexities and choices. Although a newcomer, I have quickly surmised that for those ensnared deeper in its labyrinth, cancer is a full-time job. The shock of the diagnosis is initially numbed by a flurry of appointment-making and form-filling, the latter of which necessitates a foray into the family medical history, which makes for interesting long-distance phone calls that demand at least one of us to demonstrate the tact of a private-investigator and the determination of a geneaologist. What did I expect? Anybody from my part of the world surely understands what Michael Lewis found out in When Irish Eyes are Crying,…
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Diagnosis, Dispatch from the Diaspora, Language matters, Mammograms, Mammograms, Susan G Komen Foundation
My New Pink Ribbon – Branded.
In the past 10 days, I have shown some restraint. I have not searched every corner of the Internet for information about fine needle aspirations and core needle biopsies of the breast – the latter always sounding more ominous – before showing up for it at Scottsdale Healthcare this morning. Supine in a small room illuminated only by images on an ultrasound monitor and the kindness of two technicians, I was again discombobulated by the not knowing what was in store for me. More in denial than fear, I went by myself this morning. I am choosing to keep things light for my husband and for my best friend, relegating it to the level of an annual…
