I was diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma in my right breast on March 3, 2008. This type of breast cancer is the most common type, which means there is a lot of research and a lot of treatment options out there.
My surgery was on May 14. I was scheduled for a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. Because the sentinel node came back positive for cancer, I underwent a 2/3 lymph node dissection in my right axilla and had to spend the night in the hospital.
The pathology report showed no cancer in the lymph nodes and that the surgical margins are clear. This means that I don't need more surgery and that cancer has not spread into my lymph system. The tumor measured 2.5 cm, and is staged as a T2, N1 tumor, Stage 2B.
I have just completed a 24-week course of chemotherapy (weekly infusions and daily oral) and will start 6 weeks of daily radiation therapy in January 2009.
What Cancer Cannot Do Cancer is so limited... It cannot cripple Love It cannot shatter Hope It cannot corrode Faith It cannot destroy Peace It cannot kill Friendship It cannot suppress Memories It cannot silence Courage It cannot invade the Soul It cannot steal Eternal Life It cannot conquer the Spirit
I also have been inspired by song lyrics I have heard recently. These are by Lowen and Navarro:
From Blessing How can I see the sunshine Until I have faced the rain How can I walk in beauty Until I have stumbled in pain How can I touch this moment Until I have let it go How will I find the answer Unless I already know The storm is passing now And when it does I'll open my eyes And I'll see it as a blessing
Maybe Tomorrow It Will Rain Daylight takes the long way around Never mind the sun It's only there to bring me down But I ain't buying
Midnight takes a long, long time To reach the other side It haunts my soul and hurts my mind But I keep trying
Time is my cover It's my friend, it's my mother It's my lawyer, it's my lover If I make it through tonight
Maybe tomorrow it will rain And wash these shadows from my windows I know I'll never feel the same But I can start all over
Sometimes I wish that I could fly Take off for the sky Soaring through this cloud I'm under But nowhere is where I'm going fast I know that it won't last But lately all I hear is thunder
Trouble is my witness It's my truth, it's my sickness And it's no one else's business To help me through tonight
Maybe tomorrow it will rain And wash these shadows from my windows I know I'll never feel the same But I can start all over
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