Integrative Oncology is an important part of patient care at Radiotherapy Centers of Georgia.
Today is the one-year anniversary of my diagnosis with stage-1 bilateral BC. I had a double mastectomy, two reconstruction surgeries, and a complete hysterectomy in 2010. I’m SO HAPPY to be on this end of it all. It was the toughest year of my life … and in other ways, the best. I discovered how much I was loved and cared for. THAT’S what pushed me into becoming a SURVIVOR!
Hard to believe it’s been a year ago today
that my life took an unexpected turn.
The phone-call that came April 1st, at mid-day
was my Dr., with a voice of deep concern.
I heard the diagnosis; it was far from good.
The biopsy results revealed cancer.
I had never imagined this likelihood
as I’d prayed, and awaited the answer.
I felt so forsaken, disbelieving, alone.
How could this be happening to ME?
What wrongs had I done, that I now must atone?
Would my life be cut short, needlessly?
I wanted to hope, yet I feared life’s quick end.
I lacked trust, and let doubts intrude.
But I was surrounded by hundreds of friends
whose love and prayers my own faith renewed.
Four surgeries later: pain, heartache, despair!
“Survival” seemed distant at best.
And yet, here I am, proof of healing and prayer;
knowing my life has been richly blessed.
Thank you, my beloved family and friends
for pushing and pulling me through.
You all stood beside me, through thick & through thin.
What would I have done without ANY of you?
That old voice of gloom? I no longer hear it.
I’m now a SURVIVOR & cancer-free!
God is healing my wounded body and spirit,
and I rejoice in the life left to me.
[by Ruth Andrews-Vreeland, April 1, 2011]
Ruth Vreeland
Albuquerque, NM
Women tend to be more vigilant than men about getting recommended health checkups and cancer screenings, according to studies and experts.
They’re generally more willing, as well, to get potentially worrisome symptoms checked out, says Mary Daly, MD, oncologist and head of the department of clinical genetics at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
But not always. Younger women, for instance, tend to ignore symptoms that could point to cancer. “They have this notion that cancer is a problem of older people,” Daly tells WebMD. And they’re often right, but plenty of young people get cancer, too.
Of course, some women are as skilled as men are at switching to denial mode. “There are people who deliberately ignore their cancer symptoms,” says Hannah Linden, MD, a medical oncologist. She is a joint associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle. It’s usually denial, but not always, she says. “For some, there is a cultural belief that cancer is incurable, so why go there.”
Talking about worrisome symptoms shouldn’t make people overreact, says Ranit Mishori, MD, an assistant professor of family medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. “I don’t want to give people the impression they should look for every little thing,” she says.
With that healthy balance between denial and hypochondria in mind, WebMD asked experts to talk about the symptoms that may not immediately make a woman worry about cancer, but that should be checked out. Read on for 15 possible cancer symptoms women often ignore, by clicking here.
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Also known as RC Cancer Centers.
