I have crossed the 5 year mark!! There were days when I thought that would not be possible. There were days when I dreaded what the disease would do to me, to my mind and my body. Yet, here I am, older, wiser (at least I believe so.;-) ), healthy and happy !!!
Standing here, I want to look back and chronicle my journey.
The Diagnosis
Oct 2009, I am 31, married to the man of my dreams and hoping to start a family soon. I have it all planned out, kids, career everything up to kids college and our retirement, everything is laid out in chronological order in my head. I have no reason to believe these dreams would not come true, after all I have always lead a charmed life. Oh yeah, there is this lump in my right breast, I will get that checked out, but sure that is nothing. Just some gland gone crazy or something, I am young, I eat healthy, I don’t smoke or drink, I work out 5 days a week; yes, there is this weak family history with a Paternal aunt diagnosed at 65, but I am less than half her age and the nurse attended did say that when it comes to BC family history, Paternal aunts don’t count as much as Maternal aunts do. After the biopsy I plan to go to a movie with my husband, my arm is sore but that is okay, no big deal.
Two days later I am crunched over my laptop, my biggest worry is this is difficult to figure out software bug; I need to solve this, I need to be the one that saves the day, I need that promotion, I need that raise. Then the phone rings, its my doctor, she does not sound her cheerful self. We have found some cancer cells she says, and me , stupid me, my first thought is, I knew it was nothing, all they could find is some cancer cells not cancer. Split second later the realization strikes, cancer cells mean cancer. I have cancer, I have a ticking time bomb inside of me. I am going to die. The next few minutes on the phone is a blur, jotting down names of the oncologists I have to visit, the tests I have to take.
I call my husband, we work on the same campus, he runs to my office building, we hug each other in the parking lot. We take the rest of the day off, and wander about the city, we visit the city zoo. All talk is about how his life would be after I die, how will he cope, he is just 30 he should remarry, have kids. I will be a jealous ghost, but I will understand.
A few days later additional details of my tumor comes in.
I am triple positive, ie Her2 +ve, Estrogen and Progesterone Positive.
I am Stage II A, they have found cancer in my sentinal lymph node. It has begun to spread.
Her 2 positive, sounds like a death sentence to me. Isn’t this is the most aggressive of them all???
youngbreastcancersurvivor 