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CARE
CHICK
Jan G., Yucca Valley,
California
20 years ago my aunt was diagnosed
with breast cancer. At that time she had no choice but to have a
radical mastectomy. She chose not to do chemo even though she had
lymph node involvement and is currently outliving all her doctors'
estimations of her survival.
December 6, 1999, I lost my mom to ovarian cancer. She had had
surgery and chemo in '95-96 but then when the cancer returned she
decided that was enough and let it run it's course. She is deeply
missed by all she knew.
In September 2004, I was diagnosed with stage 1 infiltrating duct
carcinoma. Even though I had a feeling that I had cancer, I was not
prepared for the devastation. Two weeks after being diagnosed, I had
a bilateral mastectomy. After the surgery, I was informed that the
cancer center wanted me to do 4 cycles of chemo even though there
was no lymph node involvement. I had my haircut and donated to Locks
of Love.
I started my chemo Dec 2004 with no real problems other than the
feeling of my body suddenly puddling around me. By my second cycle,
my hair had disappeared and I was feeling quite nasty. I decided to
wait on my 3rd treatment till I could talk to my oncologist about
the many symptoms I was having. It turned out that I had become
diabetic and could not go thru the last 2 treatments without
endangering my life further. I am now waiting for my blood sugar to
stabilize before going in for a hysterectomy.
Just a week ago I found out that my niece has cervical cancer. They
discovered it when she gave birth to her second son. She is only 23
years old. I am more devastated hearing about her having cancer at
such a young age than I was when they told me that I had it at 40.
At this time I am impatiently waiting for my hair to come back. It's
the one thing I miss the most. I don't wear much make-up so the
eyelashes missing don't bother me as much as my nice long WARM hair!
Here in California, the American
Cancer Society has a class called Look Good Feel Better. It is a
wonderful class for those of you who are able to attend one.
For information on a Look Good Feel Better program in your
area click here.
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