Ginger's Homepage

MY FIGHT WITH CANCER
A FIGHT TO WIN...
PLEASE MAXIMIZE YOUR SCREEN

My name is Ginger, and would like to share my story about my battle with Breast Cancer. I was first diagnosed in 1991. It was discovered when my internist sent me for a baseline mammogram. He called me at work and told me he had to see me, that day, when I asked him if it was about my mammogram, he just told me we would discuss it when I got there. You can imagine all the things going thru my head at the time.I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. When I got to his office, and he came in, I knew just by the look on his face that the news was not going to be good. He told me that there was a growth on my breast, and by the looks of it, the radiologist and he were 99% sure that is was a cancerous growth. I was going to have to have it biopsied and my doctor had already contacted a surgeon and that I was to go directly over to his office when I left my doctor's office. Thank God it was just across the way, for I was very numb and in a daze. I kept thinking, my life is over and I am going to die soon.
When I got to the surgeon's office and after he examined me and my x-ray he also stated that I would have to have it biopsied and that at the same time he would like to take a sampling of my lymphnodes just to make sure that the cancer had not spread. I agreed and set up the surgery date....one week later. I had decided upon a lumpectomy and the lymphnode dissection.I had the surgery and it was found that the tumor was very very small and that none of my lymphnodes were involved. My next step was to have 12 weeks of radiation and that no chemotherapy would be necessary as the tumor was so small. I had been diagnosed with a Stage 1 ductal carcinoma of the breast. I was then sent to an oncologist, and was very lucky to have one of the best oncologists in my area.
Picture to the left:
Brother,Jeff with wife Sheryn and daughter Jennifer.
Picture on the right:Me(Ginger), my Mother, Connie my sister,
Jennifer my neice,and great neice Paradyse in front.

So three weeks after surgery and the incisions were healed, I made my first visit to the radiation center. There I was examined by the radiologist, and then they took me in to mark my body and take the proper measurements where my body would be radiated. My chest was marked up with red and black markers. My chest looked like a roadmap....lots of solid lines and dots and dashes. I was told to be careful not to wash them off. The following week I started my radiation treatments. I must say they were all very kind and understanding and that they answered all of my questions.The treatment only took about 15 minutes. Half way through the radiologist and the technicians presented me with a beautiful long stemmed rose. The weeks flew by fast and soon I pronounced "Cancer Free"...

I worked all the while I radiation treatments...but if I had to do it over again, I would have chosen to stay at home, because I was totally exhausted by the end of each day. Some people are able to work and still do their chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and I think it depends a lot on how each of us feel.I must say that while the cancer diagnosis was devastating, I also found I had the most wonderful support from my husband, children, family and friends. And that after my surgery and treatments and was found to be cancer free, I was not going to die of this disease and began to live my life once again. My doctors told me that I would be followed very closely for the next 5 years, and believe me I was...If I got sick they put me through every test imaginable just to make sure the cancer had not reoccurred. That was my biggest fear, but as the years went by, and was always pronounced with No Evidence of Disease, that fear faded.

Picture on left:
Husband Bill holding Nadia, Son Troy, Ginger(Me)
Picture on Right:
Troy holding Nadia

I always scheduled my mammograms to be done on President's Day and early in the morning so I could enjoy the rest of the day doing whatever I wanted.since I had the day off., for the holiday. Febuary 16, 1996, I went for my annual mammogram. After it was done, I was told to wait to make sure that everything was okay. Well they came back out and said the radiologist wanted a deeper picture so would I please allow them to do it over again. So I did and then they told me to wait again, they finally came out and said I could go home. The next day my doctor again called me at work and said he had set me up for an Ultra Sound because something showed once again on my mammogram...After I had the Ultra Sound I was to come over to his office, because they were going to call him with the results. I was not worried because for the past 5 years I had been "clean" and the doctor told me it might be just some calcifications. WRONG!!! The cancer had come back. This time I said I wanted a masectomy and I wanted it done as soon as possible.

Well one week later I had my masectomy and the surgeon also took another sampling of my lymphnodes. I was to be in the hospital for 3 days, but ended up there for a full week as I had a hard time coming out of the anthesethic (sp). Two days later my surgeon came in when my husband Bill was with me and gave us the bad news...the cancer was back and it had spread to my lymphnodes. She was crying as she told me, and I began to cry also. She told me that as long as I was in the hospital she would schedule me for a CT scan and a Bone Scan. When the results came back it was found that the cancer had also spread to my bones. Now I was diagnosed as a Stage 4 breast cancer with metastates to the bone. Needless to say I was devastated, now I knew that my time on earth was going to be short.The cancer was called,Invasive Ductal Carcinoma , and that it was very very agressive.

My oncologist came to see me while in the hospital, and the first thing he told me was " I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again". He was trying to make light of it all and trying to make me feel better. He told me that I was to come to the office the following week and we would discuss the protocol he would use to help us fight this disease. I would begin chemotherapy as soon as my drains were taken out and the incision had healed.

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