A Tough Cookie

Wow!  A friend of mine has been trying to get me to blog for some years now.  Well it only took 5 years and a major life change to catch the blogging bug.  On April 15th, I received news that rocked my world for an entire day.  You see I've spent most of my life as an optimistic person.  As a child I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease (cancer of the lymph nodes).  The cancer surrounded my heart and invaded my neck, which resulted in my neck slowing disappearing.  I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame.  As we all know kids are cruel.  Their secret teasing became public and I was hurt.  But, I didn't let them or cancer stop me.  I persevered.  I kicked cancer's butt.  It's been almost 21 years since I walked out of my last treatment on my 16th birthday. 

April 15, 2014 started off as a normal day.  I got my coffee, checked my email, and greeted my coworkers as they walked pass my office door.  I had gone to the doctor two weeks prior and had several tests, which included a mammogram, ultrasound, and eventually a breast biopsy.  After talking with a friend about her challenges with cystic fibrosis, I was convinced that my doctor would call me with the same diagnosis. 

Midday I received a call from my oncologist, who I had only seen once 2 years ago, for what my general physician called surveillance.  She wanted him to keep an eye on me since I was a cancer survivor that had not kept up with any follow ups since college.  This call changed my entire day.  The call was merely to schedule an appointment, but I couldn't understand why it was important for me to see the oncologist. I had not received the results from my tests.  This call sent me in a tailspin.  I called the imaging center where I had my biopsy. The lady who answered the phone was polite and willing to give me my results over the phone until she realized she couldn't.  At this point I had a pretty good idea what the results were.  I just needed somebody to tell me what it was. 

I drove like a bat out of hell to the imaging office.  The nurse greeted me and explained why she couldn't tell me the results.  However the results had been sent to my doctor on Monday morning.  Why would my doctor not call?  This is major news and she dropped the ball.  No one wants to tell me the truth.  Maybe they thought I couldn't handle the truth.  The truth was I couldn't handle the suspense. 

After a couple of phone calls my doctor called me into her office.  My friend and I waited.  At this point I had made peace in my mind and spirit that I was strong enough to handle hearing the news and moving forward.  After several hours, a few breakdowns, and me holding my doctor's hands, I found out that I have breast cancer.

The tough cookie that was born in August 1992 and tackled cancer was reborn to come face to face with cancer again.  I will not be defeated.  Let's get it!  #byHisstripesIamhealed