What Remains: Breast Cancer, Mastectomy and Getting on With Life

ISBN-13: 9781504918046 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 176 str.

Beth R. Minear

Opis

During the Derecho weather event of June 2012, I was blind-sided with the diagnosis of breast cancer. I had faithfully gotten mammograms every year and had no family history on either side, so the shock of the diagnosis shook my equilibrium. As an attorney by profession and -Type-A- from birth, controlling what little I could control and at least managing what I couldn't control got me through. I am also the mother of a child with special needs. My son has Asperger's and, although brilliant, will always need me to help him navigate the neuro-typical world. I must outlive him. My choices reflect that acute realization. Although only diagnosed in the right breast, and with options other than mastectomy for that one, I elected for a double-mastectomy. When my hair started falling out from chemotherapy, I went to the salon and had it all shaved off. When I found out that my cancer was estrogen-fed, I had an elective oophorectomy. Removing my ovaries both helps prevent recurrence and ensures that I won't get ovarian cancer. What remains after a life changing diagnosis and the grueling path to Survival is a new normal that can be both heart-breaking on a daily basis and sweeter than the life you had before. The book is my unvarnished truth of the ugly and the blessings of receiving such a diagnosis - often indelicate in detail and irreverently funny. Through this experience, I learned that you can actually feel prayer. It's the most profound feeling I have ever experienced. Not miring the readers in gloom and doom, -What Remains- is intended to give hope, peace and courage to everyone, regardless of circumstances. The famous quote from Confucius rings true . . . -We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.- I'm living my second life and finding joy and laughter in the most generic experiences. Even almost three years later, I wake up every morning with -breast cancer- as my first thought. I give thanks to God for each day that no one is promised . . . then get up and get on with my life.