15 and Counting

I passed another milestone the other day in my journey as a breast cancer patient and survivor. December 17 marked fifteen years since my bilateral mastectomy. Fifteen years of a flat chest and a full life. I am counting my blessings and they are boundless.

Here are just a few of those blessings spanning these past years:

*Healing from the surgery itself and the range of motion returning to my arms in the months after. I have not had any chronic pain as a result of this surgery and that is a tremendous blessing.

*The 12 marathons I trained for and completed in the years since gaining “the aerodynamic advantage of mastectomy.” No, I didn’t really get faster, but it’s a good way to frame it, and especially helped me early on when I was more self-conscious about the flatness. I continue to run today, and that is an amazing blessing. Being a runner and wanting to continue to run and run comfortably were key factors in my surgery choice. No regrets here.

*The ongoing support of my husband Darcy, who continues to accept me as I am, and my body as it is. In these fifteen years, we have seen graduations, a wedding, two grandsons coming into this world, and so much more with our family. We have traveled many thousands of miles on numerous trips to beautiful and fun places. Being breastless was never a deterrent.

*The opportunity to become something of a BC advocate, especially in the years after my own recovery from treatment and surgeries. We don’t need more awareness as much as we need research dollars into metastatic cancer. I did plenty of writing on aspects of breast cancer advocacy, and from that came one of the lines I love most, summing up what emotional healing brought—”I am not less of a woman, just a woman less her breasts.” Here is a guest blog post of which I am particularly proud: The Sum of All My Parts.

*Metastatic breast cancer took the life of my sister Mary Jo in 2019. Cancer sucks. Cancer kills. Life is not fair, but it sure is precious. We don’t know how many days we get. I do know I have gotten many, many more than some BC patients get after diagnosis. I lean into that and embrace today for the gift it is.

There are far worse things to lose than breasts.

Counting blessings and living life. Onward!