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SUE'S CORNER |
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Posted 02-14-07...Valentine's Day:
Hi – my name is Sue Corner – I have had breast cancer in both
left and right breasts. Still got them both, albeit a bit abnormal
looking – luckily my husband sees beyond the physical!!
I have had radio therapy – burns sores, discomfort – do not
let anyone tell you this is the easy part. I have had chemotherapy – loss
of hair –I was ready for hair loss from the head, but to lose it all
over – well –no more shaving for a while!!
Best thing too do against cancer – keep your sense of humour –cancer
can take a lot away from you but you can let it know who is the boss!!
So good luck to all those who are diagnosed with this, remember,
we have a better chance than those that went before us – God bless them – my
Mum died from secondary cancer but still lived a full life.
Sue is a GRITS who lives in Florence, SC. Sue has generously agreed to host Sue's Corner, where she will share her story of breast cancer. Comments or questions about her story or your experience with breast cancer can be added here. Just email us.
But first, Sue's story:
Hi! I’m Sue and I would like to share my experience with breast cancer. That is two words that no woman wants to hear. But in the real world, it can happen to anyone of us at any time. I was 37 years old and started to have lumps in the right breast. On December 23, 2004, they told me that the lump was getting bigger and it would have to be removed but have a good Christmas and we would remove it on January 4, 2005. So I had one of the worst Christmas’s I have had in a long time, but I got through it with the help of my family. On January 4, I went had it taken out and it came back negative. Cool, what a scare. But in June, it came back in the same place and bigger. Ok, let’s take this one out and see what it is. Negative. OK. What’s going on? 5 months apart and it is back? Let’s wait and see what happens since we took it out twice. I didn’t go into all the biopsies I had in between all this. I don’t want to bore you too much. Well, in August, I found a lump in the left breast and they did a biopsy, and it was negative too, so I thought I was home free. But it got bigger and both breast hurt like crazy. I would wake up at night and cry if I rolled over on them. The lump was getting bigger, and on December 18th after I had a biopsy they said I had cancer in both breasts and would have to have both removed as soon as possible. My world crashed at my feet. My mother had passed away in 1999, and I don’t have any sisters, only 4 older brothers and my daddy and my husband and son. So there was no woman for me to lose it with, so I took all of it out on Terry and Dustin. My insurance company would pay to remove but not to put back on. Hey, I’m only 40 yrs old. Come on! I would like to at least try reconstruction. So I fought the insurance until they agreed to do the reconstruction. So in on March the 11th, 2004, I had both removed and they got all of it and I didn’t have to take any treatments and they started the reconstruction then. I don’t know what I expected, but when he took off my bandages, I flipped out and they told me if I would trust him, he would fix me almost like I was .Yea, right, he is not God. I had to go every two weeks and have injections in each tissue expander to stretch the skin for the implants, so in July I went in and had the implants put in, and in September, I could have the nipple reconstruction done and I would be through. I had the nipple reconstruction. it went well Thank God I’m done.
But that’s not the way it was. My implants hurt like crazy and I kept telling the doctor and he told me that it was all in my head. I had hurt for so long, I didn’t know how to be out of pain. NO DUMB ASS, my implants hurt. It was like he got his 40 grand and he didn’t need me any more. So I went through the breast cancer web site and asked who they recommend in my area, and they told me of a doctor in Sumter, and I called and went in April. When he took off my paper shirt, he said, my God your body has rejected those implants; they have to come out ASAP. You and your husband need to be in my office Monday morning. Why with him? This is my body, not his, but the doctor said “I want to talk to you both.” So me and Terry go, and he told us that when he replaced the implants, if I rejected one he would take both and would not put any more in, so I need to decide if that was the route I wanted to take . So I went with him and August 31st, 2005 I had the new ones put in and went back in December to have the tattoos put on the nipples, and I feel better than I have in about 6 years.
I hope I didn’t bore you to much, but thank you for letting me share it with you. Please keep me in your prayers.
Sue