breast cancer

The Verdict

I departed the US on December 16th with a huge, dark question hanging over me: would I need to do chemotherapy? My oncologist, Dr L, had explained that the Oncotype Dx test gives a score of the statistical likelihood of your particular cancer’s recurring, and whether chemotherapy and/or radiation will affect that likelihood. If your score… Continue reading The Verdict

After Surgery

I had told a few people privately about my diagnosis, but most of the world did not know when I had the lumpectomy on November 25th (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving; I scheduled it that way so I could recover over the holiday). I didn’t really want to discuss cancer in public just yet – talking about… Continue reading After Surgery

Here are the posts I’ve written so far about having breast cancer, arranged roughly in chronological order of the events and feelings they describe (not necessarily the order I posted them). Obviously, this will be updated from time to time. The Only Way to Be Sure of Surviving… How I Knew I Had Cancer Talking… Continue reading Breast Cancer

Beauty and the Breast

Just a couple of years ago, I wrote about how I was feeling beautiful for almost the first time in my life, and wondered how long it would last. At the time, I concluded that losing beauty – or whatever claim to conventional beauty I currently have – might not affect my sense of self-worth… Continue reading Beauty and the Breast

What Happened After Diagnosis

…continuing the story from How I Knew I Had Cancer… While I was still in Paris, the initial pathology report was emailed to me, but I didn’t understand much of it. I bought Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book from Amazon (an expert friend had recommended it when my mother-in-law had breast cancer in 2001), downloaded it immediately… Continue reading What Happened After Diagnosis