2 year survivor.
Diagnosed: 2007. Age: 32.
The doctors can only do so much. You have to do the rest by taking better care of yourself and believing with your whole heart that you are going to be OK!
I remember how I looked forward to my 30th birthday . I was going to celebrate it the whole year long! My birthday is in April and I had a fabulous party. It was such fun, that I decided to have another celebration in October with my friends. Again, it was a memorable occasion. But in between the excitement and the planning, I noticed that my breast had changed, I wasn’t sure what to make of it as I did not have a lump and it wasn’t painful.
It looked like a permanent bruise and as if something was eating away at my breast from the inside. I eventually started feeling a lump and had it checked out. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would be cancerous as there is no history of cancer in my family. To my shock, I was told that I had cancer and that it was spreading. The feeling of hopelessness that engulfed me at that moment, is hard to describe!
I’m still on chemotherapy and I still have to undergo a mastectomy and radiation. I want to speak out about the disease to make my peers aware of it. It is of prime importance to know your body. Early detection increases your chances of survival, hence it is important that you do regular self examinations and go for professional consultations.
People need to be aware that this is not an “Old Woman’s Disease”. Anybody can get it and at any age. There is no history of cancer in my family. Still, I got breast cancer, despite the fact that I eat healthy and that I am generally a healthy person. Again, what I would like to highlight, is that chemo is ‘do-able.’ This is the term I like to use with my doctor. Yes, it’s not a walk in the park but it is not as bad as I imagined it to be. A positive attitude goes a long way!
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