Before I even knew I had breast cancer… I was blessed with a grandson who is blind.

When he was only a year old I would be holding him and he would lay his head or hand on my left breast (every time I held him) we laughed it off… he would never lay his head or hand on my right breast.

While he was doing this, he had sadness in him that I really didn’t understand at first, he made me feel the lump there by his actions; I would have never even checked. Well after I had the cancer removed, he stopped avoiding my right breast.

Today (he is 3 now) at the Relay for Life he was running around having fun and when it came time for the survivors to lead the walk, he asked me to hold him and would not go with anyone else! So I held him and told him he could be with me. He laid his head on my shoulder the whole walk. As we got about half way around the track they started playing “Your My Hero” and Dylan picked his head up and faced me and said “Nana your my hero” and had a tear in his eye.

Well what puzzles me is, how a 3 year old knew what this was about! To all of a sudden want me to hold and walk with him just then (we were there all day!). First of all, I really think this blind baby is gifted some how, he knew I had cancer before anyone else, and to be 3yrs old and understand what today was about, the older kids didn’t understand…

There is a lot more that has happened with this baby but these two times really freaked me out! I know I have a gifted child from God! After the walk I handed him to Papa and you can see for yourself the tears.

—Shelly Montgomery

I was around 8 or 9 when my Nana started asking me to help her do everyday ordinary things. She needed me to help her in the bath tub, or sweep the floor or help making the beds. I didn’t know why, at the time, but I helped.

We lived with her & my grandfather, and I knew something was up, because normally, my Nana never asked for anyone’s help.

Eventually, my mom found out that my Nana was having difficulties and insisted she go to the doctor.  Her breast was 2-3 times its normal size, red and just not HERS.

The trip to the doctor’s office yielded scary information.  It was cancer and it had been allowed to progress for some time.  She’d have to have surgery immediately.  The year was 1976.

They had to do a mastectomy, and in 1976, there weren’t a lot of options for reconstruction.  She came home with a scar and a bra that she had to blow air into in order for it to appear to have a breast in it. 

This was so embarrassing for her, and she was always concerned that they were lopsided.  It would eventually become a joke but I remember the hurt in her face.  She’d lost an important part of herself.  But she moved on, and would go on to live another THIRTY YEARS – and face another bout with cancer (uterine) that she’d again beat. 

Both times, she had a surgery, but no chemo, no radiation.  She kicked cancer’s ASS.  She was the strongest woman I’ve ever know.  We would eventually lose her to a more insidious disease – Alzheimer’s – but she will always have that legacy in our family. 

She kicked cancer’s ASS – TWICE! My Nana.

—Dawn

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has somewhat of a different meaning for me being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.   I don’t consider myself a “survivor” yet as I’m still in treatment.  I’m “surviving!” It has been a challenging past six months for me, without my family and friends support I know I wouldn’t have made it this far. 

Even though I have no hair, no eyebrows, dark nails and have lost weight just to name a few side affects from treatment I feel VERY BLESSED!

It was March 2008, most things were right in my world.  I was planning to go to the “Big Easy” to celebrate my 42nd birthday.  I felt a lump in my right breast when my hand grazed the top of it while pulling a t-shirt over my head.  I had my yearly Well Woman visit scheduled for later in the month, so I figured I would bring it to my doctor’s attention. 

Didn’t think much of it, so I headed to New Orleans and had a wonderful time. Upon my return, I went for my yearly check up – my doctor agreed, the lump felt odd.  I had two abnormal mammograms in past years that didn’t amount to anything I needed to be concerned with, so I naturally thought this was the case with the recent finding.

My doctor sent me for a diagnostic mammogram.  The Radiologist said the lump was “suspicious” and scheduled me for a biopsy the next week.  On March 28th I was told the words no woman should ever hear – “I’m sorry but you have breast cancer.”

Specifics about my breast cancer:
It is Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) – In Situ (noninvasive) breast cancer refers to cancer in which the cells have remained within their place of origin — they haven’t spread to breast tissue around the duct or lobule. The most common type of noninvasive breast cancer is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is confined to the lining of the milk ducts. The abnormal cells haven’t spread through the duct walls into surrounding breast tissue.

I am Hormone Receptor Negative.  HER2 Positive – This gene drives production of the growth-promoting HER2 protein.  About one out of every five breast cancers is HER2 positive, meaning these cancers have greater than normal amounts of the HER2 protein. These cancers tend to grow and spread more aggressively than do other cancers.

The tumor was actually pretty small being 1.9 cm.   In May I had surgery, a Lumpectomy and Sentinel node biopsy to remove the tumor from my right breast and 18 Lymph Nodes from my right armpit in which two were determined cancerous.   In June I had surgery for the installation for a Medi-port in my right upper chest area for the administering of the chemotherapy drugs.

My cancer was classified as Stage II, which is considered to be early detection.  In this stage of breast cancer the tumor is fairly small in size but has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit OR cancer that is somewhat larger but has not spread to the lymph nodes.

My treatment regimen is 6 cycles of Chemotherapy.  I received Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin every 21 days.  I finished my last chemotherapy treatment on September 19th.

Although I won’t be receiving any more chemotherapy drugs I will still have to return every 21 days for the next six months to be administered the drug Herceptin.   Herceptin was included in my “chemo cocktail” all though it is not a chemotherapy drug.  Because of the type of breast cancer I have I must have this treatment for a full year.

It is a monoclonal antibody that is a type of biological therapy.  Herceptin only works on breast cancer patients with high levels of the protein HER2 such as I have.  This prevents the cancer cells from multiplying and growing.

Next up for me is Radiation Therapy.  In which I will have to go for treatment everyday for 6.5 weeks.   I will be meeting with the Radiologist Oncologist in the next 2-3 weeks for my Radiation consultation – treatment will begin some time in October.

My life has not been the same since March 28th 2008.  But, I think this experience will make me a better person and help me view and live my life differently.   I’m hoping my experience can help someone else.  

PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, women do a monthly self-breast exam.  Don’t wait until you are 40 to have a mammogram – if you suspect something is wrong, or have a family history of breast cancer request one, even if your doctor says you are too young or doesn’t feel you need one.  And remember, men get breast cancer too! 

Men, encourage the women in your life to check their breast regularly.  I wouldn’t wish this disease on my worst enemy!  I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on October 18th wish me luck!

Every hour 5 women die from breast cancer and 20 women will be told, “you have breast cancer.”

—by FL Hopkins

When you hear the term “breast cancer survivor”, you probably think of someone who has had AND beat this dreadful disease. Have you stopped to consider the other survivors of this disease, the silent survivors?

First off, I am not taking anything away from the unfortunate people that have been diagnosed with breast cancer — I lost my mother, my maternal grandmother, and a cousin to breast cancer so I have the utmost respect and admiration for these survivors.

However, it is because I lost these loved ones that I feel I am a survivor.

I first realized that there was something different about my grandmother when I was a child. One day I went into her bedroom without knocking (a BIG NO-NO) as she was dressing. I quickly noticed that she was missing a breast and horrifically scarred.

I remember asking her where her “boobie” went. She sat me down on the bed and explained that when she was 33 years old, she had breast cancer and had her breast removed to ensure that she would be around for her grandchildren. I accepted the explanation without much thought and went about my happy way as any child would do.

Nineteen years ago, I was your average 17-year-old when my mother died after battling breast cancer for 16 months. I was thrown into shock and despair. Suddenly, my curiosity about breast cancer became an obsession!

I talked to doctors, specialists, and other breast cancer patients to learn as much as I could about this disease that took my best friend. At that time, my grandmother had been cancer free for almost 30 years, bless her soul. With her guidance, she finished the chore of raising a motherless child.

For eight years after my mother died, I adored, listened, and cherished the bond that I had formed with my grandmother — thankful that I was lucky enough to have another love like my mother. Unfortunately, time was not on our side. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in her other breast and the odds were stacked against her. “NOT AGAIN” was my first thought.

I really didn’t think I could bear to lose another person and to the same disease. Being wiser the second time around, we made the best of our time and said our good-byes on my birthday. Three days later, she passed away — from breast cancer.

So you see, I have survived this disease. I survived the deaths of two great women. I have stayed educated and healthy thanks to my doctors.

I have tested positive for the BRCA gene – no surprise there – and I am classified as high-risk. Even though it’s a lifelong fear that I will get breast cancer, I remain positive that I won’t die from this disease. I’ll simply become a different survivor – a breast cancer survivor, not just a silent survivor.

All year long, especially in October, I honor their memories and support the efforts for all breast cancer initiatives. Please do the same.

by— Dana P. at Peapod Studio