Boobs 1, Cancer 0
October 13, 2008 | North Bend, Washington | Vetting explained
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In sickness and in health.... Most people that have experienced a traditional marriage ceremony in the U.S. have heard those words, but few truly understand the depth of the experience. In January of 2008 at the age of 43, I was diagnosed with stage IIIC breast cancer. I had a husband of 15 years and a 4 year old daughter at home. This was simply, not fair. I was the caregiver at home. I worked a full time job, took care of the finances and the household. Suddenly my husband was forced into the role of caregiver and to take on a larger role in caring for our daughter. I just knew her socks were not going to match any more. Ah, see, I've still got my sense of humor! The journey down the road of treatment for breast cancer is certainly an interesting one, although I would have preferred to skip this journey in exchange for a more mundane route. My breast cancer was an extremely aggressive one going from a small lump to a tumor that covered over half my breast in a matter of a couple of weeks. I was previously hoping that the small lump turned out to be nothing when I scheduled my mammogram. Because of the size of my new friend, I had to start chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumor before they could do surgery. I had my first of 13 weekly treatments of taxotere and exactly 3 weeks later, as Mr. Smarty Pants Oncologist said, my hair started falling out. I took this as an opportunity to get that purple Mohawk I always wanted and had my husband shave my head, Mohican style. He was pretty good with the clippers. This was after losing clumps of hair that made a fine toupee for my bald husband. I then endured 4 more chemo treatments 3 weeks apart called FEC. I think this stands for F*ck Every Cancer cell. No one should have to watch as their spouse loses their hair, gets so sick they have to stay in bed or can't even muster up the strength for a hug or kiss. After chemo, I had a masectomy to remove the "bad" breast. The good news is that there was no cancer left in the breast tissue or lymph glands. Hence, the boobs 1, cancer a big, fat zero! Now, on to radiation treatments to burn away any residual little nasties. I also have what I like to call a special cancer, so I get some extra help from a drug called Herceptin and will take some Tamoxifen when I am through with radiation. I am hoping to get Humpty put back together again sometime in the spring. I'm going to upgrade those hooters. That way I can get that t-shirt that says "I survived breast cancer and all I got were these new boobs". What can I say? It is much easier to be the one with cancer than the spouse having to watch the one you love suffer through the disease. My husband and I have always been best friends, so that part of our relationship has had to carry us through this while our intimate relationship has been put on the back burner due to my lack of energy and my sickness. I have not told my husband all that I fear for my future nor have I told him the extent of my sickness at times. I learned that my husband loved me very much and was afraid of losing me. I also learned that he could match my daughter's socks. You can read about my battle with breast cancer at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/twarren. To all my fellow Warriors in Pink, keep fighting the battle and pray for a cure!
- Tags:
- chemotherapy,
- radiation,
- invasive_ductal_carcinoma,
- cancer,
- warrior_in_pink,
- health,
- marriage,
- breast_cancer
- Posted in Assignment:
- Coping with breast cancer
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