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Last night we went out to celebrate, with our closest friends, that C had got Non Hodgkins lymphoma. Strange people, not really because until Friday there was the possibility that she had breast cancer, so, although what she has got is also a cancer, she has been assured that it is 'the best one to have'. It has been an anxious week for her and her family, and all her friends, scans, biopsies, and a mammogram but we are through that hurdle and now just waiting until treatment is decided upon when the real work will begin.
This should really be a salutory lesson to everyone, don't ignore strange lumps. C discovered a small node in her breast last Saturday, when she phoned me I was reassuring, it was mobile, the size of a pea, and we are at 'that age' when boobs feel rather more lumpy due to a loss of elasticity. 'Just nip to the Docs Monday, and phone me.' I never received the call, C arrived on my doorstep 'I'm really frightened' she said, and burst into tears. Doc was reassurring but asked if they had private health care and suggested she make an appointment for the local BUPA hospital. That was it, we whirled into action and she saw the consultant there on Tuesday. So here we are, a week later, with C now needing the kind of support that she always gives to others. The lesson for me is not to underestimate signs and symptoms. What I would have done is ignore the lump. Wait and see, would have been my attitude. I would have been right, the lump was nothing, just co-incidental, but because they did a scan they saw the enlarged lymph nodes and have, hopefully, discovered this disease early enough to stop it in it's tracks.
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(9.10.05 15:38) "don't ignore strange lumps" This is the best advice. We should bear it in mind all the time. |
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(10.10.05 15:11) check for lumps |