My birth mother called me last night with some bad news. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. They don't know if it's malignant or benign. It's growing so fast that they want to operate as soon as possible. So they skipped the biopsy and will do that after the right mastectomy. In Mom's case, she has had a small lump since second grade (more than 35 years), and they said it was fatty lypoma, no worries. Well, in less than two months that tiny M&M sized lump covered her whole right breast. They're pretty sure that a mastectomy will get rid of it all -- that it hasn't spread to her left breast or her lymph nodes.
Neither of us have really hit the scared stage. We're just... stunned, I think. And grieving. She says "I don't know how I'm going to look at myself in the mirror and see only one breast." Not because she's vain... but breasts are part of who you are as a woman. It'd be like shaving half your head -- forever. Sure, half a wig would cover it, but it wouldn't be the same. Her pre-op consultation is scheduled for the 12th, so if you pray, please pray for her that day.
So I am going to call my doctor and talk to her. I know already that I have dense breast tissue (which is a factor), and I have Crohn's Disease (also a factor, and inherited from Mom). I'm not freaking -- yet. I wanted to blog about this, but now I find that I haven't processed enough to have anything to say!
