Well, today is my one year anniversary. I can't believe a whole year has passed since I found out about my breast cancer. It definitely doesn't feel like it. It was such a horrible, sobering day. I'll never forget it, every detail. I was so scared, so lost. I didn't know what to do. There were a million decisions to be made and I was so lost as to what to do.
Looking back now, I can't believe how much I held it together through all of this. Things could have been a lot worse. I couldn't caught it a lot later than I did and had to have faced chemo and other scary things, but thank God I did yearly mammograms and caught it at it's earliest stage. They had been watching area's in my breast for a few years because I had a lot of calcifications and had very dense breasts, meaning it was very hard to see. The mammo tech explained it like a really dense fog and how you can't see through it. That's how they'd see my mammo.
I was just talking to Matt about this and wondering if this radiologist caught something that had been there the last year, maybe more, or did it just turn into cancer last year? I always had to go back for second looks, ultrasounds, etc, because they couldn't see good enough. Did they just let it go every year because they couldn't see it? Or was last year the year it went to cancer? I'll never know how long I had cancer before it was found. I'm just SO THANKFUL it was found. and found early.
I have absolutely no regrets for getting the bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. None, not one. Especially since they found signs of DCIS in my right breast. I am so thankful I don't have to worry about it coming back in 5, 10, 20 years. And thankful I don't have to be checked with MRI's and ultrasounds every 6 months. After all, the MRI didn't pick up the beginnings of the DCIS, so how comfortable would I feel depending on it to find anything else?
And, as a bonus, I love my new breasts. Yes, they are partially numb and that can be bothersome sometimes. Sometimes they itch, which I don't understand because how can something that has no tissue inside itch?? And when I scratch I can't feel it. That's strange. They are hard now. They have softened up over the past 8 months, but they are still pretty darn firm! I LOVE LOVE LOVE not owning any bra's!!!!! Very freeing!!! Especially in the summer!!! And this summer I bought my first non underwire bathing suit!!! And was amazed to just pull it over my head and over my boobs and it was on!!!! loved that!!!
I've learned a lot over this past year. Things COULD be worse. Life is short. Don't sweat the small stuff. Live like you were dying. Love freely. Laugh. Life is good. I'm happier now. when you're faced with thoughts of death and leaving people behind and you get pulled back, you are thankful, happy, content. I sometimes wonder, why me? Why did I get spared? Why did I get a second chance? So many people don't. They find their cancer late...any kind of cancer..and it's too late and they suffer and their families suffer watching them suffer and then agonize over them suffering and then they're gone. I'm so thankful I got this second chance and I plan to take every advantage of it. Matt got diagnosed with diabetes a couple months ago and we're changing our lives. We're changing the way we eat. Eating healthier, more fruits, more veggies, more chicken, less red meat. For the first time in a long time I feel like I'm taking care of myself. I want to LIVE. I want to be healthy. And not to be cliche, but I want to see my grandchildren. I want to be an old lady someday and they come stay with Grammie and have memories of me with them. I have so much to live for and thank God I get that chance!!!!
Happy healthy anniversary to me!
