Most of the callers I’ve spoken with on the helpline are recently diagnosed and terrified. I’d like to hope that I help them divert from that proverbial rabbit hole of despair by explaining much of that cancer science, so that instead they look towards the challenges that lay ahead with renewed sense of perseverance and inner strength.
Why did you decide to be a SHARE Breast Cancer Helpline volunteer?
I have been part of a few Facebook closed groups for quite a few years now. At a time when there was a widespread set of losses, I blocked them all from showing up in my newsfeed.
Why did you decide to be a SHARE Breast Cancer Helpline volunteer?
I became a SHARE Volunteer because SHARE helped me through my cancer journey and kept me sane. I went to a SHARE support group two days after my diagnosis (because my doctor at the time told me not to.
Why did you decide to become a SHARE Helpline Volunteer and Peer?
Being matched with a peer with the same diagnosis as mine, and joining SHARE’s DCIS Support Group, sustained me during this trying period in my life. I felt that SHARE was there for me during my entire process: biopsy, lumpectomy, radiation treatment and adjuvant therapy.
When I got my diagnosis, I really didn’t know where to turn. I felt as if I were falling off a cliff into the unknown that first week between my diagnosis and the results of my biopsy. Much later, when I saw the SHARE brochure later in my oncologist’s office, I thought, this is how I could help people who feel as lost as I did when I first was diagnosed.
Why did you decide to become a SHARE Helpline Volunteer and Peer?
Many years ago I lost my wonderful sister, Julia, to breast cancer. When I was also diagnosed with breast cancer--almost 17 years ago--I needed to do something for others going through the same battle.
At age 34, I was diagnosed with stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. The tumor was in my left breast and was ER/PR+, Her2-, and I had no lymph node involvement. I had fertility treatments for an egg harvest, a lumpectomy, eight rounds of CMF chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy, and several reconstructive procedures…
When I returned to the workforce after having been a busy “stay at home mom,” instead of returning to bookkeeping, I decided to work in Brooklyn, in a medical office. There I developed a lot of knowledge by reading medical journals. My mom had developed breast cancer when I was 23. I’ve been reading and accompanying the development of breast cancer treatments since then. My mom did not have a breast surgeon, and did not go to a good hospital. She died of metastatic disease. With my additional knowledge, my aunts went to breast surgeons and to Sloan Kettering which was known to be excellent for breast surgery at that time. They lived long lives.
I was 52, no history in my family, knew no one who had had breast cancer. I was diagnosed with Stage 1, negative nodes, a 1-1/2 centimeter tumor. I was scared to death. In 1993, few people even spoke or mentioned the word cancer. It was a taboo subject…
Five years ago I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which came as a complete shock after having been cancer free for 9 years. It took me almost two years to adjust to this and medical treatments I was going through. It seemed that for these 2 years everything in my life was put on hold.
