Red Velvet Wisdom

Sorry for the lull around here. I’m hoping we have things under control with Mama. She is being contrary so that is good news.

How could we let October pass us without paying tribute to the pink?  You would have to have been living in a cave to miss the pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness around here during the month of October.  Once upon a time people were so squeamish about saying the word breast that there was a fear surrounding even mentioning breast cancer.  But now, thank goodness, the world in general is much more comfortable talking about it and supporting the cause to find a cure.  Which is a wonderful thing considering how many lives are touched by it every day.    Within the last two weeks I personally have had one friend receive a mastectomy, and another that received the diagnosis.  Most families have been touched by the diagnosis of breast cancer, and if they haven’t, the odds are that they will.

The truly scary thing about breast cancer is that is can strike anyone at any time.  If you have ever been to any sort of event that raises awareness for breast cancer, you will be awestruck by the different faces of so many survivors.   Today, I would like to show you this face, and tell you her story of survival.

She is beautiful, young, and extremely goodhearted. She is the wife of our young cousin that we all called, Baby. He would cringe for me telling you that, but he younger than all the other cousins and so he was dubbed Baby. Baby’s wife is named Diana and was diagnosed with breast cancer just this past spring.  It’s amazing to me that the young woman I met so many years ago would grown into such a strong and inspirational person.   I remember the first time I met Diana.  She and Baby were coming to town with their young children and I was wondering how bad it would be. Three young kids? It was the opposite of my wildest dreams.  She and Baby were so young and I was curious as to how on earth they were going to handle all of those kids on such a long trip.  Much to my surprise they were well behaved, well mannered, and pleasant.   Being a teacher and mom I can tell you that this doesn’t happen by accident, but with careful planning and organization.  Diana had every detail of the kids’ care planned down to color coded bottles and pacifiers.   She was able to care for premature twins at a young age and a toddler with grace and style that I have never seen before.  I have sang her praises ever since. (that doesn’t happen often, trust me)  Even after adding a fourth baby into the mix, Diana has always been organized and totally on top of her game.

I asked her if we could get her story and share it with you all, and here it is in her own words:

In Sept of 2008 I did a self breast exam and found a lump on my Rt breast. The reason why I did self breast exams is because my grandma and aunt both had breast cancer, and while working on the Oncology floor I kept meeting a lot of young women with breast cancer. So I guess you can say my paranoia saved my life:]   After finding the lump, my OB/GYN sent me to do a mammogram and referred me to a general surgeon who ended up doing a biopsy and found that it was just a benign mass.  But in January of 2009, I felt that the lump had grown quite a bit and also there were 3 other lumps. Since the general surgeon told me that it was not a cancerous mass I did not do or say anything about it until I mentioned it to my husband late February. Being the caring husband that he is he told me to call the dr ASAP because that did not seem right. Of course I went back to my OB/GYN, and once again they did another mammogram but this time they saw something that did not look right. The General Surgeon told me that they found 6 lumps all together and that one of them looked very suspicious, but for me not to worry cause I am “young”. So to be safe he scheduled me to have a lumpectomy.  On March 16, 2009 I was told that I indeed had breast cancer. A week after my diagnosis I met my dear Oncologist, Dr. Patt.  Through it all I was told the best news I could of ever have wanted to hear, I was at Stage 0.   I had DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ), it was still in my ducts and had not spread.   I was given 2 options, either mastectomies or everyday for 7 weeks Radiation.   At first I did not know what to do, I felt lost.   I knew what radiation did to the body and I also knew that radiation 50% of the time just made the cancer dormant for a few years, so I was scared going that route.  But to have a mastectomy at the age of 28, I was like why, what if my husband did not find me attractive any more, what if I look weird. But my wonderful husband opened my eyes when he told me, “I want to grow old with you, not your breasts.”   He strongly suggested for me to have mastectomies.   He expressed his feelings on how important it is to have me here with him and the kids and that if I wanted breast so bad he would start a savings so I can get them.   He did not care about me having breast, he just wanted me.   Luckily Dr. Patt told me that if I had mastectomies my insurance would also pay for me to have reconstruction afterwards.   So as of now that is what I am going thru, the whole reconstruction stage.  After having the mastectomies, all of the breast tissue was sent for more test to make sure the other lumps weren’t cancerous an if so, to make sure those have not spread to my lymphnodes.  Once all of the test came back Dr Patt told me that they had found a 1.7cm cancerous mass, and luckily I did have a mastectomy cause that mass could of came back and haunted me.

How does she get through this?

To be able to get thru any big hump in life, you need GOD to help guide you.   I knew from the begining of this whole ordeal that everything was going to be all right because I have GOD on my side.   Also, NEVER think you are too young to get cancer cause that is one disease that is not prejudice.  If you hurt or you have any kind of lump anywhere in your body, do not be afraid to get it checked out.   And do not be afraid to be stern with your doctors because it is your life and you only live it once.   Feel your boobies!!!!

Amazing.  I wish everyone could meet Diana.  The reason for sharing her story is twofold: We want to show off Baby’s wife (!) and we want people to see that breast cancer can be anyone. Don’t think that it can’t happen to you, because it can.

While it may seem that our website is about older women, strong women can be found anywhere.   Diana is wise and mature beyond her years.  Within the last year she has lost her grandmother, father-in-law, and battled breast cancer.  I know that I personally do not have the strength to handle things as gracefully as she has.  She has truly inspired us with her story and we hope it inspires you as well.

Monday, October 26th, 2009, 9:52 pm   |   Uncategorized  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.