CANCER!!!

On October 16, 2010, Ron and I met with the general surgeon in Naperville associated with Edwards Hospital. There, he told us, that I had invasive ductal carcinoma mixed with alot more non-invasive carcinoma. We were not expecting that finding. He spoke for 15 minutes how he would do a right mastectomy and why he thought I would not be a candidate for a lumpectomy. He showed us the mammogram and it was very clear the whole breast needed to be taken. His nurse came in and handed me folders with information on plastic surgeons and oncologists we needed to interview for the next step. My world as I knew it changed instantly.

On the ride home from the doctors office, I had an out of body experience. Just couldn't f'ing believe I was holding a pamphlet on Breast Cancer. We both agreed that I did not need a second opinion because it was very clear to us that the whole breast needed to be removed.

From that point on, research was my number one goal.
"The beginning is the most important part of the work" Plato

The biggest blessing from this experience was that if I had not lost the weight I was loosing, I may not have ever discovered these lumps.

An instant thought of my grandmother with lymphoma under her arm made me think that maybe she had breast cancer and they just didn't have the tools back then to diagnose her. I was reaching for straws trying to come up with family history and really can not find any. It just happens...

Notifying  my children was very very difficult as they all took the news badly. The calls to my 3 brothers and 3 sisters had begun. Each call was lengthy with lots of laughter and shock. My dad passed away from lung cancer when I was 13. The second tragedy in my family was my sister Pat. She had died unexpectedly from a sub-arachnoid brain aneurysm in Ireland visiting her newest grandbaby in November, 2006. 10 months later my mom had passed from complications from abdominal aortic aneurysm.  Now I was the first to have CANCER and a battle will begin with the rally of my family and friends.

I was determined to take one step at a time and believe I had caught this cancer EARLY.