Breast Cancer Survivor
Karen’s new gynecologist detected something during a routine breast exam, but casually commented that it was probably fibrocystic. Two weeks later Karen received two notices in the mail; one stating that there was nothing suspicious on her mammography report, and the other a notice that the gynecologist had moved her practice out of state. Two years went by before she went back to the doctor. In time, Karen began to notice changes around the nipple of her right breast. Her husband was concerned, but she shrugged it off, remembering the clear mammogram report she’d received. What she didn’t know then was that dense breast tissue can hide tumors. When she identified a large lump on the left breast, she was no longer able to avoid a check up. This time a friend recommended a breast surgeon, who dismissed the lump in the left breast as fluid, but became very concerned about the untreated right breast. Karen still did not think she had cancer until the surgeon showed her the mammogram he’d taken, which showed the lump “in its entire showy splendor, complete with kite string tails growing down into the breast tissue.” The next two days felt like a month to Karen, as she went through the motions of her life with her family. She prayed, and wrote a letter to family and friends that she hoped would be read at her funeral if things turned out badly. Looking up at all the caring faces as she was rolled into surgery brought all her emotions to the surface and her blood pressure soared. The anesthesiologist did his job and Karen went to sleep for what the doctor had described as a “lumpectomy with radiation and chemotherapy.” When she awoke, she overheard a friend telling her husband, “Chris, get yourself together. Worry negates God!” Her diagnosis was advanced breast cancer, tumor of three centimeters, poorly differentiated ductile carcinoma, with no estrogen receptors - one of the worst kinds. Her husband had begun to fear the worst. Karen put on her makeup, combed her hair, and told the doctor she didn’t fear death, only pain, so the doctor proceeded to tell her the full diagnosis and his treatment plan for her - six months of chemotherapy followed by six weeks of radiation, plus cat scans and bone scans to check for mega metastases. Karen says, “I chatted with him about my opti- mism for recovery. God had emboldened my heart with a strange, warm hope. Books I had read by survivors, many of whom were Christians, also increased my faith. I clung to my Bible as never before. ...a supernatural peace settled over me...I would find out later that prayer chains had been started for me all over the country. One of my best friends refused to even look concerned, yet she pled my case with God fervently each day in her home between visits with me. Her faith that I would win this battle carried me along. She also inspired my husband to keep his act together and to be more relaxed around me.“ Karen’s story describes living almost 5 years with cancer. She tells of the ups and downs, of wigs and losing her hair, of prayer and anointing with oil, of private jokes and learning to laugh inthe face of adversity. She says, “The most valuable thing I did during this time was to join a home Bible study group. The prayers and fellowship of this group, the laughter and sharing, the attention they gave me was a kiss from the Father.” After 3.5 years of seeing the surgeon for follow-ups every three months, he told Karen she could start coming in twice a year because most recurrences to the breast happen within the first 3.5 years. So Karen continues to live her life and has many days when she does- n’t even think about her cancer. Other than a few reminders - some numbness on the back of one arm, and some fullness under the armpit due to the interruption in lymph flow - her life is pretty normal. Karen reminds us, “Cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.” She gives her email address and asks anyone who needs encouragement to email her, and she closes with the prayer, “May God bless and keep you in the hollow of his hand.”
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