Page 2 - Debco - Breast Cancer Awareness Idea Guide

A FIGHT FOR MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
A Survivor’s Story
By: Marilyn Dobosh
“You have Cancer.” These words are known to ll your body with an unimaginable sense of fear.
I began having mammograms earlier than most women as I
had a couple of cysts. No biggie, however nothing prepares you for the moment you are told, this time...you have breast cancer. The cancerous lump was deep, it was very small, and they told me it was aggressive. I was informed that the cancer had been found by my mammogram, and it would NOT have been found
by a physical exam because it was so small. My surgery was scheduled in a ash. My oncologist believed my best course of action was surgery followed by radiation treatment. This alarmed me far more than nding out about the lump I had! “Radiation!? Like radiotherapy!? On my chest!?” Thankfully, my oncologist was a truly wonderful woman who explained it all to me. I got the facts, and we talked...there was a lot of talking. I could have chosen not to have any further treatment after my surgery, but the possibility of the cancer “not being all gone” and recurring was what pushed me through to the radiation stage. I thought about my two daughters growing up into their young adult years without me. Unthinkable!! I needed to be there for THEM... so I began what I like to think of as “my little adventure”. I believe I was a lucky one. The chemo did knock me for a loop, but my caring cancer nurses
and support programs were a crutch that I could lean on. If I ever had a medical problem (and there were many) they always had a solution. I never really felt like I was in a “battle”, it was just an adventure that was involuntarily thrown into my life and I had to deal with it. The worst thing for me was looking in the mirror after all my hair fell out. I felt like Darth Vader without his helmet. White and weak looking, like something that crawled out from under a rock. BUT I had my wig, many hats, endless support from Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, my husband and two girls, and my friends to help me through it. Cancer is a whole realm, all its own, but there ia a huge network of support and care.
It’s almost like a dream now and seems so surreal. So what did I learn from my little adventure? I learned that every single case is different, every treatment is different. People with all types of cancer are surviving when sometimes it seems like all hope is lost. New treatments emerge all the time. I talked to people who had been given 2 years to live...2 years ago! But because of new discoveries and technologies we were all there together sharing stories and giving hope. I’ve seen and experienced what cancer funding can do. I believe I am alive today because of the advances being made all the time in the treatment of cancer. One thing I want to stress to all the ladies is...GET YOUR MAMMOGRAM! Don’t be afraid, it’s a piece of cake. It’s only a few seconds of discomfort and bingo, you’re all done, and the digital imaging is so accurate. It can save your life. It is why I am here today, still here. Still a wife and most important to me, still a MOM. There CANCER, take THAT!!
The Survivor’s Daughter
By: Mel Dobosh
When my mom was diagnosed I wasn’t quite sure what to do. You hear so many horror stories about cancer and how it can rip through a family’s life. I was 17, I was an emotional female teenager, and I just could not fathom a life without my mom. Now, thanks to cancer research, this particular form of cancer is curable. I remember when I found that out I told myself “we can ght this!” if we work together as a family, stay strong and support my mother whole heartedly we can beat this thing! We comforted my mom and supported her throughout her treatment and always tried to have a positive mind set through it all. Through chemo, radiation, the radiation sickness, her hair loss, her weakness, her good days and her bad days, we did it all as a family. We were lucky to have an almost brand new cancer care clinic at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ontario. I remember going to sit with my mom through some of her chemo treatments and everyone