How Breast Cancer Impacted My Role as a Mom

How has breast cancer affected your role as a mom?

Mine was diagnosed in 1980 after my 1st baby was born. I noticed and felt a lump under my left armpit. My dear mom I lost in 1984 due to MBC. They took me to the doctor and had me see an Oncologist in a big Boston Hospital and they biopsied my lump. Yes, it was malignant. My baby was almost a year old so he was not old enough to be aware. But I had the lump removed and went through my treatments. Then, I sadly diagnosed with gangrene and went back into the hospital everyday to insert a wick and drain it.

I was blessed to have caught it soon but I was very tired and wiped out as a young new mom. Thankful I had my dear mom but she was battling MBC and heart disease. Years later, I developed many fibrous cysts, which had lived with since age 13 and have been getting mammograms since then. I was diagnosed with stage 2 of Cancer of the Spine where they went in deep to take the roots. This was at age 14, but I beat that also. Then in 2011 as I had to have diagnostic mammograms and ultrasounds, they discovered a lump of micro and macro- calcification and had to have a Core Biopsy. They discovered this when they went in to take it out, but I was blessed as there was a large tumor behind it and they had to remove a small one from both breasts.

Now they are still watching closely. This past December they found another lump, enlarged lymph nodes and nodules, and a large lump on the 5th-6th rib in between and 4 more scattered in my lungs. I pray everyday to fight this and get strong as now I am a grandmother, but I do get very tired with CFS and fibro. It was hard on my other children, but with help of friends, family and mostly my husband, I am keeping faith, hope and praying. God Bless you all as it is very scary.