Last summer, I found out that I had Stage 2 Breast Cancer. Finding out I had another type of cancer after beating bi-lateral mesothelioma sixteen years ago was very tough to hear. I had some difficult questions to answer regarding my treatment. I needed to have a mastectomy, so do I want to have reconstructive surgery? Would I be even able to have reconstructive surgery due to my respiratory issues? What if I need radiation, how would I tolerate it? As these questions were running around my brain, like a hamster running on a wheel, I went back to what my late thoracic doctor said in 2004- “We will take it one play at a time. When a team plays a game, they take it one play at a time. How they play changes throughout the game. And that is what we are going to do.” My only job was to be where my feet are and stay positive. And then hamster wheel stopped. I knew what I had to do from that moment on. Remain positive, be where my feet are, and have faith in my team of doctors, oncologists and respiratory therapist that they would give me the best treatment and care.
I had the surgery at the end of February. I found out a couple of weeks later that I would need sixteen treatments of radiation. Since I cannot lie flat, my oncologist, respiratory therapist and I had to get creative on how I was going to get on the treatment table to lie flat to have my treatments. So we did a dry run first to see how this would work. The plan we came up with was to go on the ventilator on a stretcher, then transfer me to the table for my treatments. By doing it this way, I could relax for a bit before going into the treatment room. It took a team effort of the respiratory therapist and radiation staff to move me to the table, then get me comfortable on the table, and then back to the stretcher once I was done with treatment. I was pretty tired once I got home. I did a lot of resting.
Now that I completed my sixteen treatments, I am happy to say…
I DID IT! I RANG THE BELL!
I am cancer free! I am grateful to have such a wonderful support team. My husband who has always stood by me and drove me in everyday, my family and friends who kept cheering me on and being there when I needed to talk, and the staff at Massachusetts General Hospital, for being compassionate to my needs.
I will finish with this…
My shirt I am wearing has one of my favorite sayings- “Just Don’t Quit.” And I didn’t. Life is full of challenges. It is how you look at those challenges no matter how tough they may be that will determine the outcome. Believe in yourself, remain positive, be brave and be strong.
