JANUARY 16TH, 2010 - I AM A SURVIVOR! (7 YEAR)

C'mon ladies FEEL YOUR BOOBIES!

Guy's LOVE YOUR LADY AND KNOW YOUR LADY, show them this note!

EARLY DETECTION IS SO IMPORTANT!!

I always did my monthly BOOBIE CHECKS!

At 37, Knowing my body well and finding something abnormal is what led me to the doctor and the diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma Insitu (DCIS) Stage 0. Diagnosis given over the phone is not a nice way to hear it, but I guess neither is a phone call telling you that the doctor would like you to come into his office. After my doctor's phone call, I called my (soon to be X) hubby. My hubby took almost 3 hrs to get home from work that day (he didn't want to piss anyone off by leaving early!!), while I freaked out the whole time. Feeling like a tornado around me, my life was being sucked out of me, numb and in shock, scared, worried about getting thru the battle ahead, my kids, etc. All alone for nearly 3 hrs...

DCIS cannot be felt at this stage, if at all.


Abnormal things to look for;

lumps (can be really, really tiny. Just watch closely to see if it gets bigger)

rough patches on the skin, sometimes you can't see them but you can feel them! If they don't go away within 2 wks, have it ck'd and regardless of the doctors diagnosis, until it is gone, keep aware of the area and if there are any changes with it, let the doctor know!

red pimply spot (inflamed areas)

nipples change shape

Nipple discharge - February '02 right breast, just a duct or two was swollen, like engorged if nursing. My son was then 5, so that was not the issue. I began lactating a tiny bit and within a few days a small area around my nipple became inflamed. I thought it was just an infection due to the engorgement. We no longer had medical insurance due to my husband having recently been laid off, so I spoke to my doctors nurse and she told me to wait a few more days to see if it cleared up, it did. But one day soon after, I was laying on my side, my arm pushing up against my boob, I got up and I noticed a smear of reddish brown on my arm. I realized where it came from. Again, I figured this was just due to the recent inflammation. This continued thru out the summer. Dec '02 having medical insurance again and knowing that nipple discharge that is not whitish and/or clear was not normal, I had it ck'd and then biopsied. Dec 20th I got the news and by January 16th I was cancer free...

I feel guilty that, though my only choice, my prognosis of having a skin sparing Mastectomy and reconstruction was life changing, I did not have to fight the fight like so many brave woman do...

If I wasn't so in-tuned with my body and willing to go to my doctor and "FIND OUT", (no matter how scary that can be...) I may not have paid any attention to the sign and brushed it off as the remains of an infection and things could have been much more dire for me had the DCIS been left to grow and spread...


DCIS AND MY BI-LATERAL SKIN SPARING MASTECTOMY- 2 REASONS THAT DCIS TOOK TWO -

1. MOST IMPORTANTLY - AS A MOTHER THE RISK JUST TO KEEP ONE BREAST WAS JUST WAY TOO HIGH!! I WASN'T WILLING TO RUN THE RISK OF IT RETURNING IN MY LEFT BREAST SO I TOLD THEM, "TAKE THEM BOTH!" BECAUSE OF THE PATH I CHOSE I DIDN'T NEED CHEMO, RADIATION OR MEDICINE.

I HAVE HEARD OF MANY PEOPLE, MY MOTHER-IN-LAW FOR ONE WHO YEARS AGO HAD A LUMPECTOMY ONLY TO RUN THE RISK OF CANCER RETURNING. 9 YRS LATER IT DID AND A MASTECTOMY FOLLOWED. BUT HAD THE CANCER NOT BEEN FOUND RIGHT AWAY THE SECOND TIME AROUND, SHE COULD HAVE HAD MUCH MORE TO DEAL WITH. I BELIEVE SHE HAD A SERIES OF RADIATION TREATMENTS AND HAD TO TAKE MEDICINE FOR 5 YEARS.

AND THERE WAS A DOCTOR, DR. JERRI NEILSON FITZGERALD WHO DID RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA. SHE FOUND A LUMP JUST AS THE LAST PLANE TOOK OFF FOR THE WINTER AND WOULDN'T RETURN FOR MONTHS LATER. SHE MONITORED AND TREATED HERSELF AND SENT TESTING RESULTS OVER THE INTERNET TO SURGEONS IN THE STATES. THE MILITARY FORMED A RESCUE MISSION IN THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME TO FLY INTO ANTARCTICA, THEY SUCCEEDED IN GETTING HER HOME. SHE HAD A LUMPECTOMY AND FOLLOWUP TREATMENT, INCLUDING A MASTECTOMY. SHE WENT INTO REMISSION BUT THE CANCER RETURNED (IN THE OTHER BREAST?) AND HAD SPREAD INTO OTHER AREAS AND SADLY HER PROGNOSIS WAS NOT GOOD... I JUST CHECKED GOOGLE SADLY SHE RECENTLY PASSED AWAY...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/25/2608384.htm

2. WANTING A MATCHING PAIR!


SO JUST REMEMBER...
Before you go to sleep at night, Just FEEL YOUR BOOBIES!!
CHECK yourself EVERY MONTH!
Read up on BC symptoms and know your body!
If something doesn't seem right tell your doctor! Early Detection is the key to SURVIVAL!!

GOD BLESS YOU!