I have been a Radiologic Technologist for 28 years. Most of this time I specialized in mammography and have helped to save many from this disease that disfigures women and not only destroys life, but the spirit as well.
I worked in an office where we did a lot of biopsies. Afterward, all the pathology reports came to me. I would leave many days in tears because of the destruction I would see in women in their 20's, 30's and early 40's - women just starting their careers and families. These were the women you rarely heard about. It was still thought of by most as an "older woman's" disease.
I saw the work of many surgeons. I knew that if this disease ever tried to destroy me, I would pay a visit to Dr. Lauren Schnaper. Her technique was the best. She was at least 10 years ahead of her time back then.
Fast forward many years to the new age of Digital Technology. It completely amazed me. We are able to find some cancers at the earliest stages and some at the pre cancerous stage. Technology is a wonderful thing. I was working in an office that had just installed a new digital mammography machine.
Another technologist and myself were both due for our mammograms and decided to do them on the new machine. We could see the images displayed promptly. The images of my right side were perfect. The first image on my left breast made us all immediately sick to our stomachs. We knew that I was having a mastectomy before we could even finish the study.
The new digital technology aided Dr. Saini in pinpointing the worst of what she saw on the image and it allowed her the ability to get ALL of the only invasive cells that were in my breast. I credit Dr. Saini and Dr. Schnaper with saving my life and Dr. Sheri Slezak, my plastic surgeon, with reconstructing it.
I now know the shock, anger, fear and anxiety that every woman goes through when she receives the devastating news.
I currently work in an office where I perform biopsies again and I am able to give these women hope. Most are in disbelief to hear that I had recently had cancer. I look "normal and healthy".
You see, having breast cancer is no longer an immediate death sentence. Sometimes you need to find the bright side to a situation. I now have two new "girls" that sit up happy all the time. I just laugh at cancer. Don't let it win. Stay strong. Think positive. The only credit I will give "it" is that it has made me look at life differently. I now treat each day as a gift and know it could be my last. Take nothing for granted and make everyday count!
