Seeking Justice

Breast cancer – two simple words that can lead to utter fear.  Despite the fact that with advances in treatment and early diagnosis many females outlive the cancer, it is difficult to prevent pictures of extreme weight loss, weakness, loss or hair and particularly the loss of life   Even with early diagnosis it could still mean the loss of a breast.  When chemotherapy is required the side effects can be serious on the individual.

The ultimate fear of course is that the cancer is not found while in the early stages  That by the time it is found it is already metastasized breast cancer  Under those circumstance, the woman’s five year survival rate, the statistical probability that she will continue to be alive five years following diagnosis is reduced significantly.  Even with aggressive treatment a large number of women will succumb to  the disease at that stage.

When my wife learned that she had breast cancer was genuinely terrifying.  The worst part was waiting to determine precisely how poor her condition was.  Even though she was asymptomatic my greatest fear was that we would discover she had stage 4 breast cancer  Fortunately, it was found before it spread.  My wife did not have cancer in any of her lymph nodes and the cancer was fairly small.  Still she had to undergo three tries at breast preserving surgery.  Every one of those times the margins were found to be positive for the cancer.  After the third time her surgeon suggested a mastectomy a more significant surgery and breast reconstruction and after that five years of hormonal therapy

In many ways she was lucky.  She did not have advanced breast cancer  She did not require chemotherapy due to the fact her cancer reacts more effectively to hormone therapy than to chemotherapy.  My wife doing great today but I would not wish what we went through on anyone.  And I am not able to imagine what families must go through in cases where the diagnosis is one of metastatic breast cancer.  I wish only the best for anyone touched by this disease.

Filed under: technology by Robert