Sisterhood of Breast Cancer

I just completed 6 1/2 weeks of daily trips to Mercy hospital to receive radiation therapy. When I was told that would be my treatment - I thought "That's easy, its quick, painless, daily trips..bit of a hassle, but easy enough" Some of thoughts since then; Drive to the hospital, park, enter hospital, check in, wait to be called, undress and put on stylish robe, wait to be called, enter chilly room, lay on metal table, remove robe, wait for machine to be perfectly lined up and wait for the technicians to leave the room. (interesting detail, the door to the room is about 6" thick, you're the only one in there with the "rays".) Technicians come back, put robe back on, get dressed, leave hospital, find car and leave. On a good day - 30 minutes w/o drive time. Another complication- 6.5 weeks of the snowiest weather in recent history!

Majority of patients receiving radiation have breast cancer or prostrate cancer. Everyone is 1/2 undressed waiting- you get the picture? One day another woman said "Well after a few months of this, I can strip down anywhere, in front of anyone, anytime". That's where the sisterhood comes in. I understood. Knowing you have some of the strangest tan lines anyone could imagine. The juxtaposition of the technology of this huge machine and the simple rubber band they slip over your feet to keep you from crossing your legs. Knowing how fatiguing this intrusion on your normal routine really is. (Feeling thankful that I didn't have to drive from out of town.) Being grateful for the kindness of all the staff in this department - seriously an oasis in the hospital. Knowing that loose clothes and minimal "support" garments feel wonderful. Finding a salve or lotion that can soothe the blisters and burns.

This is all part of membership to the unwilling members of the sisterhood of breast cancer.

My family and friends, (not being part of this Sisterhood, cannot fully understand the experience) are celebrating the end of this adventure with me. Sincerely, Thank You.

What I've Learned From Cancer

Having breast cancer has been an unexpected learning experience. Here are some of the things I've learned.

• Support comes from surprising places. Some people disappoint. More importantly, some people surprise. My son's basketball team showed their support by wearing pink socks and sweat bands at the first ball game (and they won). That also happened to be the day I had surgery.


• More people are diagnosed now with breast cancer than in the past. Fewer people die from breast cancer than in the past.


• Lumpectomy has been renamed Breast Conservation Surgery. (For whatever reason, that seems funny and peculiar to me.)


• Cancer can be random, familial or genetic.


• There is one lab in the country that does testing to see if cancer is genetic in your family. It's in Salt Lake City. Even though my sister and I were both diagnosed this year, it is not genetic in either of us.
• It's possible to have breast cancer in other parts of your body!
• You can have from 400-1000 lymph nodes in your body.


• Surgery to remove lymph nodes can cause nerve damage. However, nerves will slowly regenerate over time!


• Radiation treatment is now done in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

Thanks to my friends and family that have been so supportive through this "adventure". And thanks to the faithful who consistently pray for cancer patients.

Breast Cancer Awareness Hits Home

October is Breast Cancer Awareness. It's hard to miss, most stores have displays of pink items for sale. It's been hard to ignore in my family. My sister was diagonsed with breast cancer in August and has been waging a tough battle through the treatments issued by her doctors. Of course she urged my to get my mammogram, and I did. Found out this week that I too have breast cancer. I'm grateful that the options for treatment have progressed to where they are, but there's still research to be done. Thanks to all the people who give to research and to the faithful people who pray for cancer patients.