Breasts by Kristi Funk

Author:Kristi Funk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-04-03T04:00:00+00:00

BREASTS CAN REALLY GET BUSY

As bothersome as this exhaustive list of lumps can be, when one of them shows up in your breast, there is one more diagnosis that would make you embrace any and all of the above. . . . In the next chapter, we face cancer head-on, and as we do, let’s already decide to emerge from the journey victorious, instilled with newfound purpose and joy!

CHAPTER 9

Cancer Happens: A Newly Diagnosed Starter Kit

It doesn’t matter if your doctor is upbeat or serious, whether she touches your shoulder or tells you on the phone, or if you’re an innately confident or fearful person—hearing the words It’s breast cancer universally shakes every woman to her very core. If this should happen to you, or is currently happening, for that matter, I want to help you do a few things to make your journey from cancer to cure as fruitful as it can be.

First, take a deep breath, and on the exhale, think, “I will survive.” This will become your mantra. Believe it, all day and every day. Know that it’s not just a feel-good epithet—it’s the truth. Most women with breast cancer do survive, so why not you? I’m not minimizing the strength and endurance it takes to get from here to cure—but you must believe that you will get there. You’re about to assemble a family (true, one you’ve never wanted) including a surgeon, plastic surgeon (as needed), medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and hopefully a Chinese medicine doctor, nutritionist, physical therapist, support group, and psychologist (as needed) to make sure you recover wholly and intact. You’ll also want to collect important notes as you move from decision making to decisive action: imaging reports (mammogram, ultrasound, breast MRI, PET/ CT, bone scan, brain MRI), images on a CD, pathology reports, consultation notes from each doctor seen, operative reports, special study reports (like genetic testing, MammaPrint, Oncotype Dx, BCI—don’t worry; we’re getting to all of these foreign words shortly), radiation summary, chemo summary, and lab results—and then pretty soon you can put that binder somewhere out of sight to collect a bunch of dust while you get busy embracing your new life.

Let’s talk about what you can expect between now and the day you see your journey in the rearview mirror. This chapter provides a crash course explaining what breast cancer is and all the different ways we treat and, yes, cure it. I intend to infuse confidence and hope in you through education; together, let’s make sure you get the care you deserve. So read on, and live long!

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.