Peace of Mind

 

 

October is breast cancer awareness month.  You cannot go anywhere without seeing an ocean of bright pink trying to bring this to our attention. 

 

Obedient soul that I am, and thanks to my mother's example, I have always been faithful about getting my exams.  Apparently my friends and neighbors don't all feel the same because for years Utah has had the second lowest rate of mammograms in the country.  

 

I don't think about it often, but I do during October, because I really could be the poster girl for early detection.  About this time 4 years ago I was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer (DCIS- the same kind of cancer Ann Romney had).  Luckily it was discovered and treated while it was small.  It is one of those cancers that is 99% curable when found early, but had I not gone in for a routine mammogram that cancer might have grown inside me for years into something really bad before I would have felt it in a self-exam.  Unfortunately, going to get that mammogram caused me to have a lumpectomy, a mastectomy, and breast reconstruction with a tissue expander and implants.  I even had some complications that required the removal of the implant, being completely flat chested on one side for months, and then going through the entire reconstruction process over again.  It was frustrating and it required a lot of patience, but I still feel fortunate because that mammogram may have saved my life.

 

Everyone thinks it won't happen to them especially if they have no risk factors.  Not true...I did not have a single one of them, except my gender. 

 

This experience has turned me into a bit of a mammogram bully.  I have little patience for women who make excuses to not go in for a mammogram.  I am always shocked at the intelligent women my age who will announce to their friends that they have not had a mammogram for several years...or ever, and seem proud of it.   It's all I can do to not grab these women by the shoulders and shake them while saying, "Are you crazy?"  Then I stop and say a silent prayer while I gently suggest they stay up to date on those routine checkups... because you just never know.

 

I learned a lot going through that experience, but the most important thing I learned is that each time you go in for a routine mammogram, colonoscopy, etc. and get a clean bill of health, the peace of mind it provides is priceless.