April 5, 2006: Wednesday - "Living Through Breast Cancer"

From the first, this day was to be dedicated to study and research.

Our neighbor, Jerry W.., dropped by this morning to fully share with us his own experience with breast cancer.

I have to say that before this setback, I would not have listened openly or closely to what Jerry had to say. My mind was made up: No radiation or chemotherapy. Now, with the risk increased, I knew I had to be more open-minded and learn more so I could make a responsible judgment for myself.

Jerry’s been through it all. He had a radical mastectomy on one breast. He tested negative for the hereditary breast cancer gene even though both his mother and sister died from it. He had radiation and chemotherapy. He elected to have the other breast removed in the one or two years following the first. He’s now been on hormone therapy for 2-3 years, the dreaded Tamoxifen.

Jerry brought over a book for me to read, a gift, “Living Through Breast Cancer.” It’s by a doctor who herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. With no time to read even a little bit of it before tomorrow, I asked him to describe 2 things that he thought were most importantly given in this book.

This he did.
“One. It’s important that you and Rex stick together through this and support each other.”
“Two,” he began and I could hear a catch in his throat, “Imagine to yourself that someone who loves you dearly is always by your side. It could be Rex or it could be Jesus Christ. The important thing is for you to remember that you are never alone during this trial.”

I was touched by what he said. It seemed particularly significant coming from one who’s just recently found his faith in the Lord. (Jerry is not LDS.)

Jerry’s visit brought me the second gift of quieting my fears of radiation and chemotherapy. He says now that he didn’t have any particularly bad side effects. (Rex remembers him as saying how bad the chemotherapy was when he was going through it, though!) The bottom line is that it is important to remember that the decision is a no-brainer: Who would not do 6 months of chemotherapy in exchange for the hope of many additionally healthy years to come?

In the afternoon, I got on the internet and found two very good websites. One was from John Hopkins Cancer Care Center. (John Hopkins is a highly respected name known the world over.) At this site, I could entered keywords in a search engine at the “Ask An Expert” page for breast cancer. The results returned were detailed answers to other women’s questions. By and large, they wanted to know what the terms on the pathologist’s report meant. This website was very helpful. Additionally, John Hopkins provided a toll-free number whereby one could call and talk (without charge) for a brief consultation. I left a message on their machine.

The second website was at CancerFacts.com. This is another conventional medical website that gives you some invaluable information. After registering, (it’s free), you can answer a lengthy questionnaire and receive back a recommendation for cancer treatment.

It was heartening to think that through these two websites and what the oncologist would say tomorrow, I’d have a good foundation upon which to make a solid decision.