I Never Really Thought About It.

I never really thought about it.

Even though my mother died of cancer at the age of 42 when I was really too young to understand what was happening.

I never really thought about it.

Even though my wife would freak out with worry each and every year, months prior to her yearly mammogram. After all, my wife is a professional worrier and I wish I had a dollar for every time I said, “See, I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

I never really thought about it.

That is, until June 23rd (2010) at about 2:15 pm when my cell phone rang while walking in the parking lot after leaving a customer. I knew where my wife was, and after I heard her first few words, I knew there was something terribly wrong. “Honey, they think I have breast cancer.”

Then it became all that I thought about.

The biopsy came back positive for invasive carcinoma, which for you amateurs means it’s the kind that spreads. My vocabulary quickly grew as I tried to grasp all the terms, the options, the opinions. You learn fast that you cannot just peg the one condition and have any hope of understanding the long-term implications. You also hear one phrase over and over. “Just take one day at a time”.

As I write this, we are enjoying the 10 years of my wife being a breast cancer survivor. Her surgery on September 24th, 2010 went well and the pathology report showed no signs of cancer beyond what was removed. Although it was a long road, chances are very good my wife will live a long and healthy life.

You probably never really thought about it.

Of all the women reading this, one in every eight will have the day that you really never thought about; you will be diagnosed with breast cancer. One in eight women nationally gets it. The only reason my wife will not have a greatly shortened life is she got yearly checkups. If she waited two or three years, chances are she would be fighting a losing battle. As bad as those last few months were, I’m thankful to be married to a “worrier”.

Please think about it and get a yearly mammogram. If you are a man, make sure the women in your life understand how important it really is. Please, please take time to think about it.

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Scott?

#cancer#breastcancer