Breast cancer hits home

My daughter participated in the Run for the Cure this year. For me.

After enduring the crushing impact of the mammogram, most of us expect to walk away breathing a sigh of relief, free of the uncomfortable, yet necessary test for another year or two. But if that unwelcome letter comes in the mail the following week saying you have had an abnormal mammogram, the journey is just beginning.

For me, that journey began last March. Most of us hope for the best, but expect the worst, me included. As soon as I received the results of an abnormal mammogram, I mentally sealed my fate, anxiously awaiting the follow-up diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy that would reveal the results. The weeks of waiting is a time of anxiety, stress, worry and uncertainty. No matter how many times you reread the statistics, the nature of the beast is to worry. And I was no exception.

A large percentage of mammograms are considered “abnormal” in some way. Usually if a woman is identified as having an abnormality, the next step is to book another mammogram to target the area in question then follow it up with a breast ultrasound and possibly a core biopsy if it is deemed necessary.

A biopsy is the removal of a piece of breast tissue for further investigation under a microscope. This can be performed surgically with a special needle. The majority of abnormal mammograms do not result in the diagnosis of cancer.

Range of emotion

For me, my range of emotion went from reassuring myself that it's probably nothing to reassessing my career and family life in case my diagnosis was indeed one that required further investigation or treatment. Like most women in their forties and fifties, I knew several friends, colleagues and family members who have experienced the diagnosis of breast cancer and the resulting treatment of mastectomy or lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

I am amazed by the courage, resilience and strength that so many women develop during the difficult time of diagnosis and treatment. I am in awe of how they continue to maintain a positive attitude, continue to be supportive mothers and how they manage to live day-by-day, somehow emerging at the other end with an unbeatable inner strength. Not only are they appreciated by their friends and loved ones, they themselves seem to have a greater appreciation of the little things that make up their everyday lives.

I became one of those women this year. My ultrasound and core biopsy resulted in a diagnosis of breast cancer, followed by a lumpectomy and radiation treatments. I was lucky that I caught it early, had good margins, no lymph node involvement and responded well to treatment.

Information is power

Someone once told me that breast cancer is the club that nobody wants to join, but if you must then it helps to know some of the other members.

Talking to other women who have been affected by cancer is very helpful and supportive. Information is power, but make sure your information comes from the right sources. The Internet is chockful of medical advice and it’s easy to scare yourself. Remember that every case is different, so what worked for your friend may not be the best choice for you.

I don't think about cancer every single day anymore. Sometimes it doesn't even cross my mind for days at a time.

Am I a survivor? Well, I'm alive and healthy, but no more a survivor than anyone who has lived through a crisis and came out on the other side.

And so, if you ever receive the diagnosis of cancer, take my advice - have yourself a good cry then get on with it and make the best decisions you can at any given time. Trust your instincts and take whatever lessons you can learn from the experience and put them to use to make your life even better!

Lila Hope-Simpson is the Director of the Home and Heart Child Development Centre