I posted a picture on Facebook of my ringing the celebration bell at the radiation therapy center at Jon and Karen Huntsman’s Cancer Center at IMC. Many friends had no idea I had been fighting cancer. So I thought maybe I should tell you my story and maybe it could help others who are also finding themselves fighting this silent killer.
Towards the end of May I received a reminder from the Woman’s Center at IMC that I was due for my annual mammogram. A good friend of mine was going through breast cancer treatments, so when I received that reminder, I picked up the phone and scheduled the appointment. They were able to get me in within the week. Great. I could get it over with. So, I did, I went and thought that would be the end of it. However, it was just the beginning.
The following week I received a call from the Woman’s Center, telling me that there were abnormalities in my mammogram and that they would like me to come back for a more intense mammogram and also an ultrasound. Still, I wasn’t too upset because this had happened to me before and it had turned out all right. I expected the same this time. So I went to this appointment, but as Dr. Parkinson did the ultrasound, he told me that he’d found a spot in my right breast that was a concern and that he wanted to do a biopsy, could I come back the next day? Of course. After the biopsy the next day, Dr. Parkinson told me he would send the biopsy to the lab and it would take a couple of days, but, if was cancer I would be the poster child for getting mammograms because the cancer was so small that it couldn’t be felt and could only be discovered with mammography.
I remember going to my writers group a couple of days later. My friends thought for sure all would be well. That I didn’t have cancer. And I almost believed them, but I was still uneasy. I returned from group and there was a message on my machine to call the Woman’s Center. When I did, they put Dr. Parkinson on with me. He told me that yes, I had cancer, but there was every reason to be very optimistic because it had been caught so early. He put the nurse back on because she needed to schedule me with a surgeon. Okay, my mind was reeling. She read off names and I had no idea who these doctors were. I told her I would get back to her. As soon as I hung up, I called my primary care doctor to get his opinion. Of course, I got his nurse. I told her what was going on and she said she’d talk with the doctor and get back to me.
I sat on the small couch in my bedroom thinking this could not be happening. I’m healthy. I go to the gym every day. There isn’t a history of breast cancer in my family. There had to be a mistake. The phone rang, I thought it would be the doctor calling me back, but it was my eldest daughter, Kris. She was calling because that night she, Tricia (my other daughter) and I were going to see Wonder Woman. It was opening night and we’d planned to have a girl’s night out. Kris wanted to know what time we were going? Right away she knew something was wrong. I just blurted that I had breast cancer. She gasped. And I immediately felt like a rotten mother, just telling her like that. But right away, Kris told me not to worry. One of her friends had just gone through this and she’d call her and find out what surgeon she went to. Within five minutes my daughter was at the door. She’d come over to be with me. She also had answers. My doctor’s nurse called and she recommended the same surgeon as the one Kris had. So, I had my answer. Tricia came home and she surprised us with Wonder Woman T-shirts to wear to the movie. I will always remember that day and how my daughters rallied around me, making me feel loved. Wonder Woman became my mantra against my fight with cancer.
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