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Hi,
I was first diagnosed 6 years ago with a recurrance 6 months ago. My youngest child was 2 when I was diagnosed. I was terrified, but knew I had to move forward.
The first thing that I did was to create a to-do list. My first entry was to dance at my granddaughter's wedding - since my oldest was only 10, I was going to have to be around awhile (and healthy) to accomplish what I had committed to. The next thing that I did was to do something each year to celebrate my anniversary. The first year, I became a certified scuba diver.
My children have always been told that I have a tumor (which I explained is a growth that should not be there). The doctors have a plan which includes many things. They believe that this is the right course of action for me to get better. I believe that I will be better. If anything changes, they'll be the first to know. And when I recurred, they were the first to know. However, they were fine.
I also told them if they had any questions that they should ask me. Everyone is different, so if someone gives them info, it may not be applicable to me. That's important because other people can scare your children if you are not careful.
None of us knows how long we have. That's true for everyone - whether or not they have bc. I try to live each day as if it were precious and try to make happy memories for my children. If I can give them happy memories and a feeling that they were loved for who they are, I will feel like I've done my job.
I know that this is hard.
Take care,
Susan
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