The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book - READ IT!

It’s been a tough year.
No, I lie.
It was a horrible year all around.

Every bad thing that could happen – happened. Every faulty decision – came back and bit me in the behind.
Sickness has made me week, megalomaniac plans have taken away my time...and now, I am full circle. Hit by the worse news of all – somebody I love was diagnosed with the big C.

You never know, until you know. Until you are there. We talk and talk about cancer, and even more so – about breast cancer. Frankly, it’s a washed out topic, diminished and in the back of our minds, until – the diagnosis. After that – there are no pink ribbons, fancy races for a cause, or happy smiley survivor women. It’s the doctors offices, the death rates, and mayor decision you don’t understand.

And there’s fear.

And anger. Lots and lots of anger. Staggering amounts.

You go from cursing to prayer, and right back to howling at the moon and injustice.

I have lost 15 to 20 pounds in a matter of days, my immune system is shot, and I don’t rememeber the last night I slept trough without having fits of crying. And I’m not even the one with this hanging over my head. I’m just on the band wagon, scared to even google statistics for stage III breast cancer.
But I have googled. And googled. And blown my own mind. When personal stories were no longer enough, I read trough scholarly articles and books. Those were even more horrifying with their death rates, pathology reports, chances of reoccurrence, and brutal stories of bone, lung or liver metastasis.

I have had enough. I was done, ready to just curl in to a ball, and sob my hear out until somebody else came along and found themselves fit enough to be support to a breast cancer patient.

Thankfully, a well meaning cyber friend, recommended The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book by the breast-health experts at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center as a weekend read.

And it was perfect.

Mind you, you still aren’t going to find all the information needed, nor are you gonna be able to sweep the worry under a rug. This is not a coping techniques book! This is a book about pure, undisclosed facts. They will help you understand on a non-threatening level what is going on with you or your loved ones that have been diagnosed with breast cancer. It covers all the basics, and serves as a well written panel on which you can build up your knowledge. 

There is a long battle ahead. For me. For the locally advanced breast cancer patient that is a part of my family. For other women (and men!) that have breast cancer. It is a battle that will last a lifetime. It is a vicious circle that never ends. It is this and more.
So, make every day precious. Schedule a mammography even thou you have no symptoms or family history of bc. My loved one was having regular test, is a fit vegetarian with no family history of bc, and more importantly…no symptoms until her bc was found on a scan – she was still staged at IIIa, with lymph node invasion because the hotspot was in the upper outer quadrant of the breast.

Be careful. Be precise. Be aware. Stay healthy. Stay positive. And read this book. Even if you don’t have cancer. Just take the time to understand it.

All breast cancer patients, breast cancer survivors, or their family members – should feel free to contact me. I am here for you.
Also, I would recommend the forum and chat rooms over at www.breastcancer.org . The girls (and boys!) there are lively and helpful, even in the stage IV subforum.

Stay strong. Fight. Survive. Live. 

Lots of love,

~Dinjolina