A good result means that all the bullshit treatment I endured in the last 12 months has worked. A bad result means I have to go through all the bullshit again but this time with a double mastectomy. That's if I'm lucky. It could also mean I've reached the final level of game play. No more levels to complete.
As it turned out, the results were good. I cried a little as the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders. I high fived the hubby and immediately shared the good news with family and friends. This resulted in lots of messages, LOTS of messages. Some from complete strangers. This again made me do a little cry. WOOO, YEAH, GREAT NEWS all of which is true but then YOU KICKED CANCERS ASS! ..........now I don't mean to put a downer on things because it is great news. It's the best possible news I could have hoped for and I will be celebrating in style but I had to clarify the situation with my breast cancer consultant, Mr Cunnick. The results mean that I am free of cancer AT THIS TIME. I will have to go for mammograms yearly until I reach the age of 50 and with the type of cancer that I have, the chance of recurrence is higher for me within the first two years. Mr Cunnick reassured me that they would still be keeping an eye on me throughout the year and if I develop any new symptoms such as breathlessness, headaches, aches and pains anywhere that won't shift then I should report these straight away. These are signs that the cancer cells have spread and turned into secondary breast cancer in the lung, brain and bones. Also it's very important to continue being self aware, checking my boobs and armpits once a month for lumps or any other changes. I can't stress enough how important it is to be self aware. It played a part in my luck so far. When I discovered my lump it was only 2.5cm in size. The tumour was located in one place and the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes. All of these things mean that my chances of surviving the next 5 years are good. Had the cancer spread to my lymph nodes then my prognosis would not have been as good. So please, PLEASE check yourselves regularly. Not just those of you over a certain age....ALL OF YOU. Cancer doesn't give a shit how old you are.
I have 12 more months to go before I am out of the 2 year zone and then I can breathe another sigh of relief. After this the chance of recurrence becomes smaller again. Once I get to 5 years I might just start relaxing. So as you can see as a cancer survivor I am never out of the woods but right now it feels pretty good.
There are ladies that I have made friends with and who I love and admire who were given the same results as me only for cancer to come back. Those ladies are living with cancer now, forever. Treatments are available to keep them living for as long as possible. Some women live 10 years or more on these treatments. Others sadly don't. All of these ladies are in my thoughts today. Keep checking yourselves, donate some money to Cancer Research. Stand Up To Cancer........because we need to stop losing amazing people to this shitty disease.
Peace, Love and Chocolate Cake.
I'm off to buy wine :) X
