I’ll always remember standing at the sink, washing my face, when I felt a brief stabbing pain in my right breast. I instinctively brought my hand up and felt a small lump. I know that pain typically isn’t a sign of breast cancer, but I believe my body was trying to tell me something. I’m glad I was in a quiet place where I was tuned in to how I was feeling and I could react to that quick little pain. I had recently scheduled my first mammogram because I had just turned 40. But I didn’t want to wait until that appointment to see if this lump was something to worry about – I was of course already worried. I called and got in right away to see a provider, who also felt the lump and gave me a referral for a diagnostic mammogram. Those results led an ultrasound and biopsy and then an MRI. I remember regular life just going on while I waited for results – I went to work, my husband took our son to football camp, and my dad came for a visit. I was worried, but I assured my family that it was probably nothing. But it wasn’t “nothing.” I got the call saying that it was cancer. We discussed options and I was scheduled for surgery. I had a lumpectomy, and the surgeon also took a few lymph nodes for testing. Throughout all of this, discovery, diagnosis and surgery, we tried to stay positive. We just kept on going like nothing had changed. There was a point when my husband and I sat down and he said something like, “You know, with everything going on, we haven’t even really talked about all of this yet,” and we both sort of broke down, and I said, “What if I die?” All I could think about was him and our teenaged son. And what if I wasn’t here. It turns out that my cancer was caught very early. We were so relieved when we learned that they got everything during surgery and the cancer hadn’t spread to any lymph nodes. I didn’t need chemotherapy, but I did have to go through rounds of radiation. The worst part of that was how hard it was on my skin – it was so uncomfortable, like the worst sunburn I ever had. My skin was raw, requiring uncomfortable bandages. The healing process took a while, but I was grateful things weren’t worse. Getting breast cancer at age 40 was a huge wake-up call for me. You never know what’s going to happen while regular life is going on – life is just so unpredictable. One minute everything is normal and the next you can be worried that you might die. It reminds me that it’s always important to be patient and kind to others as we have no idea what might be going on in their personal life. They might be consumed with worry about something. What helped me most, was talking with other women who had been through breast cancer. Having others to talk with who could share their experience, insight and tips for getting though treatment was so valuable and comforting. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I’ve been cancer free for five years. Listen to your body, and no matter what, get your mammogram as your doctor recommends. Whether you know someone affected by breast cancer, or you’ve lost someone to breast cancer and want to honor them, or you’re going through treatment, or you’re a survivor, like me, being part of the ThinkPINK Color Fun Run/Walk gives all of us a fun and meaningful way to come together in support of each other. I hope to see you on Sunday, October 8!
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