At 37, breast cancer was the last thing I ever expected to happen to me. I always took care of myself, I had no family history, I had both my boys early in life, I breast fed both of them and exercised regularly. According to statistics I should not have been one..

When I found a lump, I had it checked out, had a mammogram with an arrow pointing where the lump was, I had just been checked by my OB/GYN 3 months earlier with no signs of any lump, my mammogram showed nothing. My doctor had me cut down on caffeine, take Vitamin E and call him in 2 months if the lump was still there. 2 months were not quite up when I called the doctor that the lump was still there. I was sent to a surgeon who scheduled a biopsy.

The day of my biopsy I had the procedure and went home feeling sure it was nothing and I could enjoy the next 3 days off work. I arrived home about 5 pm and by 7 pm the surgeon had called and said he didn’t know how else to tell me except just say it, the biopsy showed I had breast cancer. My heart sank and I thought my world had come to an end. The surgeon told me to meet in his office the next day at 3:30 pm and bring as many family members as I wanted. To his surprise I came with a room full of concerned family members.

The surgeon laid out all the details, as I heard 45% survival rate I felt myself slip off the couch to the floor, this could not be happening to me, from that point on everything was a blur. The surgeon had scheduled me an appointment with a reconstructive doctor and an Oncologist the next day. To this day, I couldn’t tell you what the reconstructive doctor looked like, I just went through the motions with him. My visit with the Oncologist was the first ray of hope I had. He assured me he would do everything he could, that we could beat this. He scheduled me for all the baseline tests and scheduled an appointment to plan our strategy.

It was determined I would have 2 months of Chemo (every 2 weeks) then a mastectomy, then 4 more months of Chemo. I then went through 5 weeks of radiation. I lost all my hair, got the mouth sores, grew puffy from the steroids and battled nausea for 6 months. I would schedule my chemo treatments for Thursday afternoons, take Friday off and would be back at work on Monday. By Monday afternoons I would start to almost feel human again.

One thing I had heard, and I firmly believe, is that cancer doesn’t just affect the patient, it affects the whole family. I could not have made it through the 6 months of turmoil without all the love, care, understanding and help from all my family and friends. A family member always went to my chemo treatments and doctor visits with me, my mother always gave me a rose on my treatment days, my in-laws hired someone to clean my house, I received many inspiring cards and phone calls and I always had someone there to listen to me and let me cry on their shoulder. I never knew how powerful a hug was. I was very comfortable talking to anyone that had questions, in fact, talking about what I was going through was like therapy for me.

One of my sisters had heard on the radio about a support group started by 3 women who had all gone through what I was going through. The group was called “Women’s Wellness Group”. My sister found out where they met and took me to a meeting. What a wonderful group of women. If I had any concerns/questions, there was always someone in the group that had gone through the same thing. They give out “Love Boxes” to women who have had a mastectomy and the box is full of helpful items and inspiring words of wisdom. This was a very cheerful, uplifting group of women who knew exactly what I was going through, the group still meets every week.

I waited 3 years before I decided I was ready for reconstructive surgery. I elected to have a Trans-Flap surgery which means I used all my own tissue for the reconstruction and I was very pleased with the end results. The doctor’s office would many times call me and ask me to talk to other women contemplating this type of surgery and I even showed several women the doctor’s handiwork.

In 2005, to celebrate my 10 year anniversary since my diagnosis, I put together a team in the Race for the Cure called “Dianamites”. We had a 64 member team and won the largest individual group. I have only missed 1 race in 10 years. Race for the Cure is a great fundraiser/support for those who have battled breast cancer and are still battling this horrible disease.

May of this year (2006) was my 11th year as a survivor. This year, like I have for the last 11 years, I went to my Church and lit a candle and thanked the Good Lord for another year of Life and for giving me such a wonderful circle of family and friends. Life is too short, so count your blessings and live it to the fullest every day!

Diana Oldham