“My diagnosis came when I was a 48-year-old, post-menopausal woman with no biological children. I told myself, ‘I have to get my sh*t together quick!’ Things were progressing well until a few days after we moved into a new home. I was experiencing severe shortness of breath, which I’d mistakenly attributed to chemo side effects. Long story short, 840 gallons of propane leaked into our home. By the time the leak was discovered, my treatment plan had been modified.”
‘Doctors told me it was ‘a blocked milk duct.’ It felt like a lemon seed under my skin, close to my areola, and hadn’t hurt at all.’: Woman with breast cancer stays positive, ‘I’ve got this. Everything will be okay.’
‘Is your husband deaf, too?’ No, but he’s the most patient man I’ve ever met.’: Cancer survivor marries ‘hearing husband,’ claims ‘harships’ make her ‘glad to be born deaf’
“Yes, I’m deaf and my husband can hear. He reminds me when I leave the water running because I can’t hear it, or when my car is making a funny noise. He makes all my appointments over the phone. The amount of times I’ve said, ‘Huh? I have no idea what you’re saying,’ are endless. But I seriously couldn’t do life without him by my side acting as my ears and being my person. He makes me glad to be born deaf.”
‘If I die, our kids won’t remember me.’ My husband excused himself to the bathroom, literally sick to his stomach.’: Woman mistakes breast cancer for ‘clogged milk duct,’ says chemo ‘almost killed her’
“The ultrasound tech brought me a box of tissues, tears welling up in her eyes. ‘What are the tissues for?’ I asked, confused. ‘There’s an 80% chance it’s cancer.’ I was completely shell-shocked. Numb. I couldn’t get out of the room and building fast enough. While others continued living their lives, I was stuck, sick. My life was put on hold.”
‘I was asked if I had any questions. All I could manage to mumble was, ‘Will I lose my hair?’ I was 16. I was in high school. I was a girl. I couldn’t be bald. I just couldn’t.’
“Three words. That’s all it took. Three simple words. Everything was happening too fast. I just sat there, staring at the wall, trying not cry. When homecoming came, I had this beautiful red dress. I put on heels, makeup. Then I looked in the mirror and crumbled to the ground. What was I thinking? I looked ridiculous. I looked sick.”
‘Mom, my hip really hurts.’ She spiked a fever. I went to bed that night screaming, ‘Please don’t take my baby!’: 16-year-old girl diagnosed with Bone cancer, shows up to prom ‘proud, bald, and beautiful’
“Mattie complained pain was radiating down the back of her leg. ‘Welcome to the club. You’ve inherited our family hip problems!’ I really didn’t think much of it. Then, a light bulb went off. ‘Don’t you think it’s strange she’s just 16 and has this much pain?’ After blood work and an x-ray, we learned the fateful news. I looked at my sweet, beautiful girl and could not believe it.”
‘I had convinced myself I was just being paranoid. I was oblivious to the fact this could end up badly, so I went alone. It was supposed to be a chill day.’
“I noticed he was getting super clumsy. But he was a toddler, and most toddlers are naturally wobbly. Yet this felt different. He was holding on to the wall when he would walk, sometimes he would just fall right over. It was strange.”
I Knew I had Cancer Because I Trusted my Intuition
“I am only beginning to digest the gravity of the impact that diagnosis had on me: as a mother and wife. Moreover, how it changed me.”
‘She was my everything’: Bride rushes wedding so cancer-stricken mom can attend, to no avail
“That was not enough time. I wasn’t ready to lose my mother.”
