Healthy RGV Issue 107 - October Has Us Thinking Pink

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE · OCTOBER 2017
SCARED OF
BREAST CANCER?
HERE'S WHAT TO DO
The day began like every other: a
quick shower, a bite to eat, and mad
dash out the door in hopes I would
make it to work on time, except this
time, I never made it past step one.
Here I was, a working twenty-something-yearold
with big dreams, huge goals, and a small
lump in my breast that had the potential to
wipe everything away.
I was too young for breast cancer. I did not
know anyone who’d had it. I had no family
history of it. Yet, there I was, hands shaking,
knees quaking, heart beating out of my chest.
I had a lump and didn’t know what to do
about it.
I ran out of the restroom in nothing more
than a towel and a flood of tears and asked
my roommate to feel it. Panic did not even
begin to define what happened in the next
few minutes. We were a mess, a pair of
inexperienced ‘kids’ who thought the world
had come to an end.
An emergency call to my general practitioner
led to an office visit, a mammogram, a
diagnostic mammogram, and an ultrasound.
Techs were on standby for a biopsy. The
radiologist hovered nearby. I thought my fate
was sealed. I had breast cancer and life as I
knew it had come to an end.
The consummate professional, the
radiologist leaned over me as my heart beat
uncontrollably out of my chest and said that I
had what looked like a fibroadenoma (a noncancerous
tumor). Other tests followed, my
brush with a devastating diagnosis was over,
but the lessons learned will forever be a part
of me.
One seemingly innocuous shower took me
down a road I did not think possible at my
age. I was not even doing a breast exam.
A quick turn, a jarring movement, a near
slip and fall and I felt a lump. My almostnightmare
taught me a valuable lesson.
Breast health was nothing to ignore. It did
not take long before my friends, and I were
talking about it, and more importantly,
marking our calendars to make out monthly
checks. Our lives depended on it. Something
that we thought couldn’t touch us until we
were older proved to be just as dangerous
for us as it was for anyone.
After several tests, many appointments, and
countless hours of research, I finally had my
lumpectomy. During those agonizing weeks
between lump to diagnosis to how to treat
my condition, I became very introspective. I
devoured information and had many heart
to heart talks with my loved ones. I recreated
myself. I learned to eat better, become more
vigilant in my approach to my health, and
to live a more purpose-driven life. I put my
body and my health first. Somehow, nights
out didn’t seem as relevant any longer. Drinks
and late-night binges
were not all the rage.
I let go of my "devil
may care" attitude
and learned to make
better choices. Natural
products replaced my
go-to favorites. Real
food became a top
priority. Living trumped
everything else in my
life.
While I hope and pray
no one, no matter their
age ever finds a lump,
I know that my health
scare changed my life
for the better.
By Sarah Wester
29 HEALTHY MAGAZINE