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Dean Routson
On a Saturday night in early December 2007, I felt a lump. I cannot describe the thoughts that went through my head. This is the moment every women dreads.
By Tuesday, I had an appointment at the Berman Breast Center at GBMC and learned that I had stage I, estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. A lumpectomy and radiation followed. I had no lymph node involvement, and my chance of reoccurrence is very low. I had dodged a bullet!
What did I learn from this? First, that my husband of forty years is a rock. He was there every step of the way, but he did not take over for me. He knows my "control freak" tendencies would not tolerate that. My son, who was twenty at the time, was scared but confident that I was getting the best treatment available in the world.
During treatment I did lots of research, as most women do. I learned that many factors for my type of cancer were not in my control. A woman’s age at diagnosis, age at onset of menstruation, age at pregnancy and menopause, and number of pregnancies were all possible factors. I was forty when my only child was born.
I knew I could do a better job of controlling my health. I had let my weight creep up by thirty pounds. I only exercised once in awhile. I learned that excess weight and lack of exercise exacerbated the production of estrogen, which feeds the kinds of tumors I had.
I have lost the thirty pounds; I lift weights and do cardio-vascular exercise five days a week. I have never felt better. I now bug all my friends to adopt healthy habits. I do not want them to experience the moment every women dreads.
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