A warning to my readers — this post contains my true breast cancer awareness story, and it’s from my heart… and my heart cusses like a drunken sailor!
My Story
A sharp pain woke me up in the middle of the night… and it was in my left breast. Wtf?! Apparently, I had rolled over onto my stomach and somehow hurt my boob in the process. But I was too tired to worry about it and quickly drifted back to sleep.
Sometime later, the sound of Apple’s electronic harp gently pulled me from my dreams. God… it’s Monday. As I lay there on my back, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I suddenly remember the mysterious pain in my breast… only now, I’m wide awake… and a little scared.
Focusing my gaze on the ceiling fan, I raise my left arm over my head and rest it on my pillow. With my right hand, I feel around for what I’m praying is an imaginary source of the pain… but there it is… a lump, maybe the size of a small grape. F*ck.
But Breast Cancer Doesn’t Run In My Family
My heart is pounding now, and why wouldn’t it be? I mean, I have a big-ass lump of cancer in my left breast, and I’m going to die! Why me? I’m aware that breast cancer exists, but it doesn’t run in my family! It really IS Monday, isn’t it? *Sigh*
For the next six days, I didn’t say anything about this to anyone because then shit would get real; instead, I chose to rationalize it internally. The optimist in me said I should go to the doctor immediately, find out what it is, and treat it accordingly. My internal pessimist said to avoid the doctor at all costs because whatever it is is probably going to kill me anyway, and I’d rather not know. The rest of me was a depressed wreck who didn’t care one way or the other. Maybe it would just go away on its own…
What Will My Doctor Say?
I finally dragged my dying ass in to see my doctor, who also happens to be a tennis pal. It had been nearly a year since my last well-woman exam, and because I’d never done a self-exam, I told her I had no idea how long the lump had been there, only that it’d been hurting for nearly two weeks. Will she reprimand me for my lack of breast cancer awareness? Ughhhh…
As I lay there on the examination table, her well-trained fingers quickly found my lump… then another… and another. They were in both breasts, too.
How the hell did this happen?! I mean, no one in my family has ever had breast cancer – or any other cancer, for that matter! I have so much going on at work right now, too… and who will take care of my fur babies? My sudden awareness of breast cancer was suddenly all-consuming.
As my life was flashing before my eyes, I could hear my friend’s voice telling me to schedule a mammogram blah, blah, blah… don’t worry blah, blah, blah… on the court blah, blah… It’s like my brain was short-circuiting. I don’t even remember driving my dying ass home.
The Mammogram
Two days later, I’m at the Breast Center for my very first mammogram. (Before you go all Judge Judy on me, I was 29 at the time, and the recommended age for a first mammogram is 40.) Now, I have small boobs, and starting with my left one, the technician is literally having to pull and push and stretch and squish it to get it positioned just right between two vertical clear plates. Well, that wasn’t too terrible. But then she tells me to take a deep breath and hold it, and to my horror, the plates start coming together.
Moments later, I’m in excruciating pain, staring down at my poor little boob being smashed beyond recognition. What fresh hell is THIS?! Is it going to stay like that?! Are the lumps going to explode from the pressure?! I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS!
She finally releases the plates, and I’m like, can I go home now… and cry?!
Nope… because Nurse Ratched is now going to smash the right one and then do it all over again, only horizontally. F********ck.
And it didn’t just end there. She repeated the entire process again and again… and again. By the time my ordeal was finally over, I had murdered this woman in 50 different ways in my head. It’s a good thing it was just in my head, too, because if not, I would have murdered an innocent woman. Well, sort of. As it turns out, I have dense breasts, which have a lot of muscle mass and fibrous tissue. And because of that, and the fact that the largest lump couldn’t be smashed because it’s located too far to the left and near my armpit, Nurse Ratched didn’t get a single good image for the doctor. Sooooooo… I was scheduled for an ultrasound the following day.
Seriously?! I hate my life…
But wait… an ultrasound doesn’t involve smashing, does it? So it has to be less painful, right?
The Ultrasound
The ultrasound technician spends what seems like hours rubbing and probing the already very sore lump on my left breast and IT. IS. EXCRUCIATING. I keep waiting for her to ask me, “Is it safe?”
When it was all said and done, she had measured a total of 7 large-ish spots – 3 on my left breast and four on my right. And there were a bunch of others that I guess were so small that they didn’t require measuring.
Oh look… here comes the doctor to read the results and tell me how long I’ve got to live.
The Truth
Hi Jen, I’m Dr. You’re Screwed. (That’s not the doctor’s name, of course, but that’s my brain computed it at the time.) She talks to the technician for a minute and looks at the results. Then she picks up the ultrasound thingy (oh hell no, not again…) and goes right for the painful lump.
“Do you see this black spot here?” she asked, pointing to the dark area on the monitor. “It’s a cyst. It shows up dark because it’s liquid rather than a solid mass.”
Oh God, I’m going to die from cancerous liquid cysts…
A few short minutes later, I learned that I had wasted nearly two weeks of my life being unbelievably depressed and stressed out and that my “cancer” was nothing more than clusters of harmless cysts allegedly caused by my affinity for coffee.
HARMLESS cysts! Sweet baby Jesus, I love my life!
Since it was causing discomfort, the doctor went ahead and aspirated the large cyst on my left breast. It was no picnic, but at least I’m now pain-free. She also half-joked with me that without these cysts, my breasts would actually be smaller than they are now… so, um… yay me?
Ladies, Be Proactive!
Long story short (too late, I know, lol!), we all have been affected by breast cancer in some way. Maybe it happened to a family member, friend, co-worker, or to ourselves… Maybe it was the painful lumps that scared the shit out of us for weeks before finding out they were harmless cysts. That’s why breast cancer awareness should be top of mind! It’s SO important that women are proactive when it comes to their own breast health.
According to breastcancer.org, this year alone, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 61,000 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. But on the upside (yes, there actually IS an upside), breast cancer also has a 5-year survival rate of 98% with early detection. The American Cancer Society recommends:
- Yearly mammograms at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health
- A breast exam about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over
- Breast self-exam is recommended (at least once a month) for women starting in their 20s.
Don’t Make Excuses
Ladies… Cancer is an equal-opportunity disease. Just because you may not have it now doesn’t mean you won’t get it later. And wouldn’t you rather catch it as early as possible, when the survival rate is highest? Regular well-checks, self-checks, and mammograms can literally save your life! Don’t make excuses!
These are the more popular excuses women make, and in looking at the big picture, they are really inexcusable, don’t you agree?
“Cancer doesn’t run in my family, so I don’t need a mammogram.” Said the very first woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Mammograms hurt.” They absolutely can hurt, but don’t be such a baby! Breast cancer hurts far worse… AND it can kill you!
“I don’t have time.” Then make time! Unless your employer is a total asshole, you should be able to use a personal or sick day to take care of your lady business. If you can’t do that, schedule your mammogram during lunch one day. And if you can’t do that – quit… because no job is as valuable as your life.
“I don’t have the money.” Mammograms are 100% covered by most insurance carriers, however if that doesn’t apply to you, there are numerous programs which offer free or discounted mammograms and/or flexible payment options. Just call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 for information about facilities in your area.
Long Story Short (Too Late, Lol!)
The fight against breast cancer starts with YOU, my peeps. Breast cancer awareness, along with regular exams with your doctor and monthly self-exams, can help in early detection and possible cure. You can also help spread breast cancer awareness by sharing this post with all of the fabulous women in your life 🙂
