A letter from a friend who just went through all of this last year!!

Shawnae,

Damn, girl. I’m so glad you went in for a mammogram. People our age think we’re too young to worry about, but look at us. I can totally relate and understand everything you wrote about and what you’re going thru. My cancer was DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, which means non-invasive cancer. It stayed w/in the ducts, so I had no lymph nodes to remove or worry about. That breast MRI was kind of weird for me. My face got tingly numb partial thru. They told me it was probably my reaction to the dye. I will have one of those every other year now, w/mammograms each year. The biopsy where I had to lie on a table w/my boob hanging thru a hole for 45 minutes was the worst test I had. That dye stings, especially in such a sensitive area.

Having surgery on both sides sucks. For me, the worst part was a huge bandage, about a 9” square, they put on after surgery. Every time I moved it was really uncomfortable. That came off in 3 days and I felt better after that. I had to sleep propped up because the blood flow to my breast laying down was painful. So is rolling over. Of course having a 2nd surgery for me a week later didn’t help. They give you an ice pack. Use it! That helped tremendously. They told me to put it on for 15 minutes every hour or two for the first few days. I did all of that and more. The percoset worked better than the Lortab, but it made me more tired, so I only used that for the first few days when the pain was the worst. Is Mark coming to help you? You’ll need help, Shawnae. I’m pretty darn independent, but it’s nice to have someone there to help fill up the ice pack, get you something to eat, and just keep an eye on you. I didn’t nap a lot, but dozed in and out.

Radiaton: This wasn’t too bad. I was lucky that a Canadian study came out just before I started radiation that showed a 3 week stint of a higher dose of radiation was just as effective as the 6 weeks they’re used for years. This study confirmed results from some earlier ones. Ask your doctor or your radiation oncologist (when you get one) about it or look it up yourself. It probably came out in Sept. or Oct. last year. Radiation becomes a part of your routine and doesn’t take long. You’ll probably have a CT scan to “map” your treatment and you’ll get tattooed, literally, to mark where the beams go. They did a “dry run” on the radiation machine before my 16 sessions started. I didn’t really notice being too tired. You get quite tan in the area, mine being a big square. I kept aloe on it everyday (after your session) and didn’t really notice any dryness. It wasn’t until I was almost done that I noticed kind of a burning feeling on my skin, mostly rolling over in bed or w/my arm resting on my side. It’s because the radiation builds up over time. Since you are so fair, you’re more prone to skin problems. The burning lasted about a week after treatment, but really wasn’t a problem. I didn’t wear a bra for months. Forget the underwire or push ‘em up too. I had one of those and it left an indent, literally, in my boob since the tissue is so soft and healing.

Please let me know how your next test results go. The waiting is awful. For us, so many tests and surgeries were done on a Friday. That sure made for a long weekend. I know you’ll do great, though. Please, please, call me anytime. Nobody understands the emotional thing, either, unless you’ve been there. I get emotional now writing to you about it. I’d love to talk w/you.

Love Sheila