[Jackie07]

When I had my first breast cancer surgery in 2003, I told the surgeon I would prefer to have a mastectomy because based on what I had read from research articles back then, lumpectomy had a 50% recurrence rate. The surgeon assured me that lumpectomy plus radiation has the same result as mastectomy. So I had lumpectomy, 18 weeks of chemo, and 33 round of radiation. My cancer did come back - because she did not cut off enough of it. A chunk of the tumor was left out and for 4 years they called it scar tissue - even when I had been feeling sick and tired for at least 4 months and went for a mammagram. But the surgeon knew it was not scar tissue - as the technician had proclaimed after the x-ray. So I had a mastectomy - and this time I asked for bilateral because I would never know when I would have good insurance again. I got lucky to have found another teaching job, but now I am told they are not going to renew my contract. Is it related to the cancer treatment? You bet ya! But am I going to be able to prove it? Fight in the court? Not a chance. I am just glad that I had gotten as much of the potential problem taken care of at this point. With two brain surgeries and two breast cancer surgeries, it is going to be a long, long time before I can get another full-time job with benefit.