Mother and Daughter Both Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Their Story
Differences between experiences
Charlene’s experience with breast cancer has been quite different from her daughter’s. Due to lack of medical advancements during the time of her breast reconstruction, Charlene has had to have eight surgeries between 1982 and 1992. She had virtually no options in seeking out other providers or second opinions. Who she got was who she got, and she had no choice but to listen to what they told her.
Her daughter did not have to go through chemotherapy. With stage I breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy and almost immediately received an overload of support from her church community. This was very unlike what her mother had experienced with her surgeries. Monica strongly feels that with the increase in connectivity today and breast cancer being less taboo to talk about, patients have access to better support and better care.
