The Big “C”

If you have been following this blog for a while now, you know that cancer has played a big part in my life in recent times. My Mother was a breast cancer survivor for thirteen years, only to have developed another type of cancer earlier this year and pass away in June. Three of my cousins have also had to deal with breast cancer. Now, it’s my turn.

Last week I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The official name is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and it is the most common form of breast cancer in this country. I am being treated at a leading cancer hospital in New York City and have the utmost confidence in my doctor. I don’t yet know what stage cancer it is, but my doctor seems to think that we have caught it at a very early stage. I will not know my course of treatments until some further testing is done.

This in many ways comes as no surprise. As mentioned above, I obviously have a family history of the disease. My Mother was 52 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. One of my cousins was 31. I am 35 years old. The statistics are also clear – one in eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Of course, the timing could have been a little better. After my Mother passed away at the end of June,  two weeks later I went in for my yearly mammogram to find a small mass deep in my left breast.

Even though this has probably been the hardest summer of my life, I feel lucky to have the support of my father, sister, husband and that I have two young children to keep my spirits bright. I am also very optimistic that my cancer can be treated and that I will be a survivor too.

Whether in the book blogging community or as a fellow adoptive parent who followed me over from my adoption blog, your comments and visits have always meant the world to me, therefore I decided to be honest and share my story with all of you. I also hope that in telling you about my diagnosis it will inspire you to schedule a mammogram (yearly after the age of 40 if you don’t have any family history of breast cancer).

I will still be leading a normal life (or for what some people may call a “New Normal”) and will continue to write book reviews and read, read, read (I mean, what else can I do while waiting at my doctor’s office)! I will also occasionally write a quick blurb about my treatments if I think it will affect my blogging and may even start a seperate blog to chronicle by cancer experiences.

In the meantime, make sure to continue to stick around here since there are some really fun things going on in the next month at Stephanie’s Written Word, including a brand spanking new home for my little blog, another author guest post and a fun giveaway of a signed book!