Every year in October, it is World Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today (October 18), is Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women in China, and is known as the “number one killer of women”, with about 278,000 new breast cancer patients and 66,000 deaths each year. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
When a second child comes along with a “terminal illness,” when total mastectomy meets reconstructive surgery, and when a cancer patient becomes a counselor …… what are the stories of what happens to breast cancer patients? Let’s hear from three women:
01 Yuqing: I lost my breast forever when a little life came
My name is Yu Qing, and until I was 32, I was like the first female character in a novel, with a husband who was a lawyer, a beautiful daughter, and an enviable career.
I’m a Fortune 500 executive, and while my peers are busy with kids and laundry and cooking, my battleground is the CBD, Sanlitun, and the negotiation table for huge business every day.
Just when my career was booming, cancer came into my life. Breast cancer, to be more precise.
For my physical in the spring of 2014, I had walked up to the door of the mammography department. Seeing only a few people in front of me, an important client called and I decisively walked out of the hospital and rushed to Starbucks to sign a contract. A few days later, I received my physical exam report and the breast column was blank.
Turning to late fall. One day, I felt my nipples itch a little, thought it was the dry weather, and applied a thick layer of olive oil. 20 days later, I noticed a few more small blisters around my nipples, but didn’t worry about it.
The sesame seeds of pain and itchiness were quickly put behind us, and the Spring of 2015 was filled with good news, as I was promoted to vice president and unexpectedly found out I was pregnant.
Because it was the long-awaited second child, I didn’t dare to miss each pregnancy test. I still remember the ultrasound number on that day, which was number 24.
“Does it hurt?” The doctor took the ultrasound scan head and pressed it against a small bump in the armpit. “It doesn’t hurt.” I was dry. “It doesn’t hurt at all?” The doctor raised his voice. “Yes, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
The report came back: 3cm x 4.2cm, a swelling seen in the right armpit with unclear borders, and a recommendation to go to the mammography department for a review. What happened after that was as surreal as a dream: registering, ultrasounding, getting the report.
When I saw the words “Eczema-like breast cancer“, my head exploded.
Thankfully, it was caught early and with treatment, my breast cancer was well controlled. The company’s first major project was to develop a new product, a new product that would be used in the future. I voluntarily resigned from my VP position and took a leave of absence. My second baby is 2 years old this year, and my only regret is that I haven’t breastfed him.
In hindsight, I think that the breast irregularity that fall may have been a warning from my body that I missed.
Breast cancer is an “undead cancer” with a fairly high survival rate if detected early. The survival rate is 90% for 1-year patients and 73% for 5-year patients. The company’s main goal is to provide a comprehensive range of products and services to the public.
Yu Qing was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was more than 12 weeks pregnant, in the safer middle of pregnancy, and in this case, surgery outside of obstetrics was performed without significant impact on fetal development, so the lives of both Yu Qing and her baby, were preserved.
But Yuqing’s story, in the end, left an imperfection: she lost one breast forever. In order to avoid harming her baby with radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery, Yu Qing opted for a total mastectomy. And the loss of a breast is an unspeakable pain for many breast cancer patients.
Is there a way to make up for the lack of it?
02 Angie: A flower blooms on the wound I have a new life after a total mastectomy
The day I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was in for a shock: I couldn’t keep my breasts. I was so happy to see that my family was comforted: “We don’t care if we lose this, as long as we still have our lives!”
But I cared! I’m only 34, I can’t accept a strange body with only one breast, and I’m not sure I’d mind it! My body is not perfect, but “perfect” and “complete” are two different concepts.
I was obsessed with staring at people’s boobs for a few days.
The gods were kind to me, and I met Professor Liu. Would you like to do a reconstruction? ” He also said that my case was more suitable for latissimus dorsi + prosthesis reconstruction.
I didn’t know about the latissimus dorsi, but the word “reconstruction” caught my eye: I cut one, I’ll do another! The surgery plan was quickly decided: total right breast excision, latissimus dorsi + prosthesis reconstruction, and sentinel lymph node biopsy.
For the sake of symmetry, Dr. Liu also decided to “save” my left breast, which had been ravaged by breastfeeding, by performing a breast reduction lift.
The post-operative period was very hard, and the pain after the anesthetic kept me up all night. Many of my patient sisters said admiringly, “You’re so good!”
I’m not that brave, I’m just more afraid of losing my breasts.
Looking down, it’s fuller than it was before the boobies, so what’s this pain! The reconstructive surgery was just a pain in the skin, and it was worth it to get a career line in return!
Angie’s “obsession” with a full breast is not uncommon among breast cancer patients. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
Fortunately, breast reconstruction is quite advanced today. Breast cancer patients who have reconstructed their breasts with implants or autologous flaps have a more natural look, feel, and contour than in the past. It is not true, but it has given the patient a full sense of dignity.
The reconstruction that Angie did is a combination of autologous tissue and prosthesis for breast reconstruction. And breast reconstruction is a constant battle to regain beauty, not something that happens overnight.
After surgery, Angie has a long recovery period ahead of her. Pain in the surgical site, fluid in the back wound, infection in the implanted prosthesis, and axillary web syndrome …… are not to be taken lightly. The good thing is that Angie always faces all these challenges with the optimism of a game “Breakthrough”.
But not every patient is so open-minded. Sonya, who is in the same room, said with a sad face, “Angel, did you think I made a wrong choice? I shouldn’t have cut it all out in the first place!”
After the same total mastectomy and reconstruction, why did An Qi feel at ease while Xiao Ya felt sad?
After talking to her, Angie learned that her surgery was actually quite successful, but she was anxious about her husband’s dislike of her scars. And for breast cancer patients, a positive mindset is just as important as surgery and chemotherapy.
There is no greater blessing in life than to collect electricity from a “bolt from the blue”, find water from a “flood”, and see a new direction in life from a “fatal terminal illness”. There is no better way to see a new direction in life than to gather electricity from a “bolt from the blue”, to find water from a “flood”, to see a new direction in a “fatal illness”. Ziyou is an example of this, and after she was cured of breast cancer, she stayed on at that hospital.
03 Zirong: I lost a breast, but saved a dying marriage
My name is Zirong, I’m 34 years old, and for me, cancer is like a miracle.
Surviving breast cancer in the past two years, I often feel that the treatment can be so good that I can stay in the hospital to work, the male doctor can become a good friend, and I was on the verge of divorce, but after getting the disease, it is stronger than gold – this disease is a bit strange.
The year I got sick, it was the seven-year itch of marriage, and we had a long cold war. The day of the diagnosis, I asked my husband: “Do I want to help you find a new daughter-in-law, so she reads me know what’s right and can be better for the baby in the future ……”
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Husband scolded me for being “crazy” and said, “If you are here, the family is here.”
They are the only ones who can do it. Is God trying to save my marriage with a breast cancer?
His husband is a man of science and technology, and he was already awkward, but after we got married, he didn’t say much, and I always felt he didn’t care enough about me. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
His husband proved to be very reliable.
The first time I saw a woman, I had to go to the hospital, and I had to go to the hospital.
With the help of love, I was so motivated by my treatment that I even became the spiritual leader of the mammography ward, urging my patients to exercise all day long, and guiding my sisters who couldn’t think straight.
During my recovery, I began to think: What about my future job? Although I was promised a promotion, I had another voice in my heart: Stay in the cancer hospital, do psychological assistance, and serve more breast cancer patients.
Cancer is scary. But I’ve walked around and learned that the scariest part is the fear itself, and the imagination of the unknown. When you’re alone and bored, it’s easy to ruminate on the discomfort of the disease and treatment in a more nuanced way.
I enrolled as a counselor while I was recovering, joined the oncology hospital’s recovery volunteer ward visitation team, and went to work in the hospital’s psychological assistance center.
Breast cancer, which became a turning point in my life.
Like all cancers, breast cancer strikes women both physically and emotionally. They typically go through several emotional phases: shock and denial, fear, anger, calm, depression, and acceptance.
Arriving at the acceptance stage is like “coming ashore”, meaning that the patient has crossed the river of despair and is able to accept treatment rationally and regain social functioning. The first time I saw this, I was able to see that it was the first time I saw it.
Like them, for every breast cancer patient, it’s up to you to decide whether the end of cancer is a tragedy or a comedy. That’s all just seeds that only come to life after burial.
On this Breast Cancer Awareness Day, we hope that women, would start by paying attention to breast health, detecting and screening early, not missing minor illnesses and pains, and not missing every medical checkup. Treatment is an afterthought, and attention to health is the source of freedom from breast cancer disease.