My Prostate Cancer Journey – Bill Dolan
My journey with prostate cancer began in January 2007. My PSA had risen abruptly from 4 to 7 and a transrectal ultrasound in February showed I had an enlarged prostate. Another PSA test in March showed my PSA had climbed to 17. In March, a urologist did a digital rectal examination (DRE) and said he could feel something abnormal. A prostate biopsy in early June
Read MoreMy Breast Cancer Story – Christine Williams
Vancouver, BC It was February 2008 when Christine Williams discovered after a routine mammogram that she had stage II breast cancer. Two weeks later, she had a mastectomy on her right side and nineteen lymph nodes removed to test for cancer. She asked for her left breast to be removed as well: “I did not want it go through that again. Besides, I was heavy-breasted
Read MoreMy Unexpected Breast Cancer – Elaine Aubé
In 2007, Elaine Aubé of Edmonton, Alberta received a disturbing call from Paige, her youngest daughter. “Mom, I have lumps in my breast,” Paige told her. Elaine wanted to hug Paige, but Elaine was in a motel in Edmonton and her daughter was halfway across the country in Rogersville, New Brunswick. Elaine told her daughter that she herself had not done a breast self-exam since
Read MoreFirst Time for Everything – Rita Myres
Julia lingers over her coffee, brought to her by a matronly and generous-bodied waitress. It’s stronger than she likes it, but, preoccupied by her thoughts about her mission for today, she drinks it mechanically, her awareness focussed internally. The fifties-style diner, where she has found a corner booth, provides a welcome retreat, and Julia is soothed by the quiet murmur of voices and the muffled
Read MoreWhere Am I Today? – Karen Robson
Where am I today? It’s a very good question, but not an easy one to answer. Since my cancer diagnosis in September 2010, the surgery, the treatments of chemo followed by radiation, and the targeted therapy of Herceptin through to February 2012, I have changed as a person. I have often heard the phrase “breast cancer is like a gift wrapped in barbed wire.” At
Read MoreWhere Do We Go From Here? – Karen Robson
I had often thought how disheartening it must be to have your medical professional tell you that you have cancer. It was something I hoped I would never hear. Totally unexpectedly, I was told they found a lump in my breast on a routine mammogram. Then all the medical procedures start and you are now part of the “cancer” world. You wonder how did this
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