Race for the Cure ~ Mother's Day, May 10, 2009

Last October, Mary Nelson Clerc passed away from breast cancer. It was after her funeral and seeing her family (one of my classmates, Lona, Mary's sister) that Lona said she wanted to walk in the Race for the Cure this year. In honor of her sister, Mary.... I felt compelled to walk with her. I didn't know why, but I knew this was something I wanted and needed to do. So I joined her....Even though we only have 4 people walking for "Team Mary" this year, we WILL be making a difference! The 4 of us walking are Mary's 2 sisters, Lisa and Lona; Patty, Mary's best friend and myself..... We all know each other and should have a great time!!

Little did I know.........

April 3, 2009 was my yearly physical with my Doctor. She does the usual 'stuff' and then it was time for my breast exam. I just turned 39 this year and am not ready to hit the 40 mark for the fear of having annual mammograms, but this year would turn out to be different. My Doctor found a lump that she didn't remember feeling before. And since I don't do routine breast exams on myself, I had no clue what she was talking about. So they made my appt. for a mammogram and I was able to get in on April 6, 2009. I was scared. You hear all these horror stories about these crazy exams, and let me tell you - they aren't that bad. If you're afraid you're gonna "hurt" after them, be sure to take a motrin or tylenol before you go and it won't be so bad. I was a little sore for a few days afterwards, but nothing bad. They did the x-ray and ultrasound and didn't find anything. They assured me not to panic if I had to go back for a 2nd mammogram because "they have nothing to go by".....So when I was told I had to go back in, I wasn't worried about it at all..... My next mammogram was set for April 20, 2009. I went in - knew the procedure and was ready for it. They did the x-ray and found that the area my Doc. had questioned wasn't anything at all, but there was something on the other side that needed to be looked at. They took 18 ultrasound pictures of that side and found one area that measured 2mm that looked questionable.... The ultrasound tech told me its "probably nothing", but honestly ...they had freaked me out by taking so many pictures this time. The first time they took MAYBE 2 or 3 pictures. So I knew they had doubts about something.

That Monday seemed to linger on forever. I was on the understanding that since the radiologist was there this last time, that I would find out right away IF there was something going on.... I called my clinic twice on Monday - nothing. Then on Tuesday, I called the clinic and they had just gotten the mammogram back and said it was probably benign but they hadn't gotten my ultrasounds back, so they would call me back. A few minutes later, the clinic called me back and told me they found I have "mildly dilated ducts and several small cysts"...I could either "wait 6 months for my next mammogram or visit a surgeon (who sees this stuff all the time) and see what he says"....... So I talked to Martin about it that night and talked to a few friends and I decided to call the clinic on Wed., and make an appt. with a surgeon - Dr. Hodges. Wow - everything went so fast! Dr. Hodges had an opening on Thursday, the 23rd at 4:30!!!! Wed. I was a wreck. I had a really really bad headache all day Wed. cuz I was so stressed out about this crazy thing. However, Thursday came around and I was fine all day long. Infact, I felt empowered. I was ready to take on everything and anything that came my way! 4:30 came around and one of my friends who has been through this same situation before, met me at the hospital where I was to see Dr. Hodges came and prayed with me. Randy Kay was a blessing to have there! (Martin wasn't able to make it because he was working out of state) It took me an hour to see Dr. Hodges and he was a very nice and gentle Doctor. He told me that there were some options 1 - wait 6 months for my next mammogram; 2 - have a biopsy done where they take out the tissue in question and analyze it; and 3 (in the middle of the first two) - do a needle biopsy to take just a tiny bit of tissue out and analyze it. He said that he wasn't gonna scare me into having a needle biopsy because he didn't think they would be able to find anything.

Dr. Hodges was very confident in telling me that as of right now, I dont' have anything to be concerned about. That the cysts are too small to feel, or even see on the mammogram. He recommended that I see my own Doctor in 3 months for another breast exam and then have a nother mammogram in 6 months to see if there is any development at all.

WHEW!!! What a relief!!! I had no idea how things were going to turn out, but I knew I had friends and some family praying for me. And I felt those prayers!!! I KNEW that no matter what the appt. was going to turn out to be, that I would be fine.

So now, with Mother's Day and the Race for the Cure being only 2 weeks away, I realize - I get it, what all the hype is about breast cancer. Although Dr. Hodges told me that the mammograms still miss about 10% of all breast cancer, its a pretty sure way of finding things..... I have a better understanding and a better feel for how all these women start their journey.

Being 39 and having my first mammogram done because I needed one, not because I was 40 and "of age"...I would urge everyone to start checking themselves for any type of lumps. That if you feel anything, you should tell your Doctor about it and get checked. Since Mary's death, I have known of 3 or 4 other women who have had some problem with breast cancer, or had an abnormal mammogram and needed further checking....... Now maybe I'm being more aware of this terrible disease, but breast cancer is nothing to laugh at. Someone I know just had a double mastectomy (even after radiation/chemo) and she is now in the recovery stages and getting ready for plastic surgery for reconstruction, but breast cancer is very serious. My friend, Randy Kay who had some benign lumps removed said that after her surgery (she had all the symptoms - tenderness, orange coloring, etc) she had several co-workers make appts with their Doctors for even their yearly physicals cuz they hadn't even seen their Doctors in years!

I'm not trying to scare you - that is not my intent at all. I want to have you keep an open mind about breast cancer and tell you that early detection is the key....

As I walk in the Race for the Cure in 2 weeks, I will be seeing people who have lost mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, (even men!) to breast cancer. As Team Mary walks for Mary, it will be a very emotional time for us, and I hope that you will celebrate your Mother's Day with a different state of mind. Be thankful for your health, for your Mom, Aunts, all the wonderful women in your life who are healthy. For we never know when sickness may strike us down.

For those of you who knew about this, thank you for your prayers! I felt them and have thanked God for those prayers - I would never have been so calm and ready to take this on without God and you by my side! Thank you! :)

Love ~

Michelle

www.komenminnesota.org

www.togetherforthecure.org