Blessed? Yes, blessed

 I have the house to myself. I'm listening to a mixed cd a friend made for me full of motivating "fight" songs. And as I am listening to these songs I'm reflecting back on how everything happened. And truly, I am feeling so blessed.

Yes, I realize I have the big "c" word. I'm still really fortunate.  First of all,  I found the lump, and it's not like I was looking for it. Then, even though it felt like it took forever for a diagnosis, in reality it was only three weeks. Each person, receptionist, nurse, tech, doctor, along the way took me seriously and acted accordingly. They recognized that the situation was one to be taken seriously passing me on to the next person.

 After my diagnosis one of the appointments I had was with an oncologist. These were his words to me, "honey, you are so lucky no one "f" ed up along the way or we would be seeing you a few months down the road with a whole different situation."  And yes he said the word. 

As I had mentioned in a previous post the type I have is invasive ductal carcinoma, more specifically triple negative. Triple negative means that when it was tested it tested negative for the three hormone receptors that often act as fuel, which makes mine more difficult in a sense to treat because they can't treat it with pills.  It also means it is more aggressive. The doctor said mine had a growth rate of 90% which was the fastest growing he had seen in his 26 years experience. But triple negative types respond very well to chemotherapy, so that is a plus.

All along the way doctors kept questioning how I didn't notice such a sizable lump. It was if they were saying "how could you have not noticed this" without saying the words. One had even asked me if I had lost a bunch of weight recently that would have made the lump more noticeable. Nope, been the same size for years. It was really as if it had come out of nowhere. But after test results came back it all made more sense. It's just that the thing is super fast growing.

Bob didn't hesitate. Before I had even had the mammogram/sonogram he was talking to the nutritionist about a meal plan and supplements. They put me on a vegan diet, free of processed, fried, and gmo foods, mostly raw, no sugar, and absolutely no aspartame. OUCH!!! That one was painful, but I knew it had to go. I started juicing vegetables and that became a main staple in my diet. I had to switch to an all natural deodorant (that was rough). And I started taking supplements, lots of them. Honestly, I believe it was because I implemented the dietary changes and added all the cleansing supplements that prevented the cells from spreading while waiting for a diagnosis. If this all sounds a little crazy you should watch the documentary "The China Study". It explains how animal based foods and sugar actually feed c***** cells.

So yes, I have a lot to go through over the next year, but it could have been so much worse. I am blessed. I am thankful. And I know that I will be among the many who have been where I am but they now call themselves survivors.