5 Year Anniversary
It's just around the corner - November 17th. The day that changed my life forever. 5 years ago on that day I was diagnosed with Stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma in my right breast.
The past 5 years have been hard, hard, hard and life has changed dramatically. But when I look over the past 5 years I'm grateful for so much. Firstly, I'm grateful to my GP who found the lump. She literally saved my life. Then I'm grateful to my surgeon Dr John Buckingham, who sadly, passed away 3 years ago from pancreatic cancer. But during his treatment for me, he was patient, he answered every question I had and he empathised with what I was going through. That's a hard thing to find in doctors these days I find....
I'm very grateful for my family - in particular my husband. We had only been married for 4 years (second marriage for both and blended family) and we were in a great place, financially, emotionally and physically. I have since discovered that a breast cancer diagnosis can make or break a couple. In our case it made us. I can't say how much I love him enough....then there are my kids. I sometimes get really sad when I think about what the cancer diagnosis has put them through but then I think they've become stronger, more empathetic and my patient because of it...that can't be a bad thing.
I'm also very grateful to all the ladies who came into my life during this journey - with their own stories, their own remedies and their own grief. Breast cancer is truly a sisterhood that no one chooses to be a part of but if you find yourself there, there are a lot of people here to help and support you.
