AFreshChapter Shares Her Stage 1 breast cancer experience.
Answer of the day on TalkAboutHealth by @AFreshChapter
AFreshChapter Share Her Stage 1 breast cancer experience.
As a BRCA gene mutation carrier, I have had access to excellent screening on my breasts since the age of 23. When an MRI picked up the tumour in June of 2009, it was so small that it took an ultrasound and 2 biopsies to confirm that it was cancer. When I got diagnosed at the age of 30, my genetics oncologist called to tell me how sorry she was, but that they had found a “little” cancer. I know she said this to make me feel better about the situation, but it just made me feel frustrated…isn’t cancer still cancer no matter what size it is?
Although my tumour was small and hadn’t yet spread to my lymph nodes, it was still an aggressive Grade 3, triple negative tumour. In some respects, it seems like I should have felt more grateful because the tumour was “only” Stage 1. But, I didn’t feel grateful at all. I still had to go through three surgeries and four rounds of chemo. I still had to lose my hair, my breasts, and a year or so of my life.
I suppose, now that it’s all behind me, I have more room to feel grateful because perhaps I worry a little less about a reoccurrence. But, at the end of the day, cancer is still cancer (no matter what stage) and fear is still fear. So, regardless of the stage, I think we all wake up in the morning and do our best to get through each day with hope for a long and happy life ahead.
