Contributors

Friday, October 1, 1999

I learned that no woman is safe from breast cancer

October has always been a favorite month for me. It is when fall seems to creep in among the Indian summer at hand. The leaves are turning beautiful hues and pumpkins appear on doorsteps adding more color to the days. Teamed with crisp, cool nights and yes! I love October.
   This October will be different for me. It will probably be one of the most important and bittersweet ones of my life. You see, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and my life has changed forever.
   In late February, I found a lump in my left breast. I had been through two other scares, so I waited two months before making an appointment, hoping it would go away as the others had. It didn't. And so I went in, had a mammogram, and on May 10th I had a lumpectomy.
   "The news is not good." Five words that I will never forget. I was in shock, but I knew all along. I can honestly tell you I knew it was bad. You try to shake it off, but that little feeling is still there, telling you that you aren't going to escape this time.
   I couldn't even cry that day, I was so numb. But the next day I did. I wondered how, why, when? How could it happen to me, with no history of breast cancer in my family? What did I do or not do? When did it start to grow - I had just been to the doctor a short time before! So many other thoughts went through my mind, making it a strange, sad day.
   Since that day in May, I've had many ups and downs. I've had bone scans, brain scans, abdomen scans, heart scans. I've had more surgery to remove lymph nodes to see if they were involved. All of these, I am happy to report, were negative.
   I was lucky to have found it in time. I am preparing for my final chemo treatment. After that, I will have six weeks of radiation, five days a week. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving, I will be through with cancer treatments, and get on with my life, normal, that is, once again.
   You may wonder why I am telling you all of this. I simply choose not to be silent about my disease. I am living proof that there are things to be learned from this experience. And if I can reach just one person with this story, it will be worth it.
   First things first. Breast cancer is a disease that attacks women young and old; I simply did not know. This disease does not respect age. It also doesn't care whether you have a history of it in your family. Please do not think you are safe. One in eight women will get breast cancer in this year alone, a truly frightening statistic. Just look around, and chances are, you will know someone who will be the next. And it just might be you.
   Am I trying to scare you? You bet. Because I want you to realize that your life is literally in your hands. If you are faithful in checking yourself monthly and getting regular checkups, you can stop this thing in its tracks. But only if you take the first step.
   I still have more treatment to endure, though now I know I will make it through. However, I will never be the same, because I will spend the rest of my life being checked for this again.
   But you see, I am OK. I could choose to be a victim of breast cancer. But instead, I chose to be a survivor. For more information on this and for current information on breast health, call 1-800-462-9273 (the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Hotline) or visit the Komen website at www.breastcancerinfo.com.
   (Elizabeth Schafer, a 1978 graduate of Banquete High School and an '82 graduate of Texas A&M at College Station, lives in Borger. Her parents, Charles and Barbara Bradshaw, live in Robstown.)
  
  

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