You can never be prepared for a diagnosis of breast cancer

November of last year found me living as best I could with several health issues, the most debilitating of which stems from never having recovered from a serious viral infection in 2001. I’ve been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, a little understood and much-misunderstood illness. It keeps me virtually housebound. For the most part, I’ve made peace with feeling sick all the time. In fact, recently I’d been thinking that I could be OK with the prospect of spending the rest of my life with flu-like symptoms as my constant companions. Then, totally unexpectedly, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was discovered by chance when a routine test not associated with my breasts showed a slight shadow on the left one. My doctor ordered an ultrasound, and it revealed a lump in a different location from the shadow. A biopsy of the lump led to the diagnosis: invasive ductal carcinoma. “Invasive” means that the cancer is no longer contained in its place of origin (compared to the more favorable — and more common — diagnosis of DCIS: ductal carcinoma in situ). I was told I needed a lumpectomy, and if the lymph nodes removed during surgery tested negative for cancer (thankfully, they did), the recommended treatment would be a course of targeted radiation and five years of hormone therapy (the latter in the form of estrogen-suppressing pills). I’ve completed radiation, although I’m still experiencing one of its side-effects: fatigue (which makes my pre-ex...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Patient Cancer Source Type: blogs