As a physician I was moving up the ladder of my medical career. I was recently promoted to Regional Director of Pegasus Emergency Group. I travelled throughout New York and Louisiana building and managing emergency departments. I was starting a new job as Emergency Department Medical Director at Decatur and Parkway Hospitals within the Huntsville Hospital system. Never in a million years would I h
ave thought I'd be bald with no breasts carrying around my own medical folder. For so long I ignored the signs, I felt tired, had difficulty sleeping, nightmares of my children being left alone. There was a mass in my right breast. Fear and denial made it easy for me to “not find the time” to have it checked. There was always work and motherhood that took priority. I kept checking my life insurance and checking the safe. But I will never forget the last straw, my 18 month old son ran up to me while I was sitting on the sofa and in trying to climb up he grabbed my breast. I let out the loudest painful scream. My son curled up on the floor by the sofa and tried to keep from crying, he was scared. I knew then that "thing" I felt, was real, and a real problem. It was time to tackle my fear and deal with what I now know is cancer. I am 3 weeks out from my final chemo and I am a survivor! However, this journey was one I will never forget. When I walked away from the Cancer Center, I felt like a new woman. Being healthy is something I will never take for granted again. Surviving doesn't mean the fight is over! The road is clear and the sky is the limit!
