乳がん患者の語り

The doctor was extremely good in explaining what was going to be done. How I'd have a mastectomy. And I said I was going on holiday the following week, could I leave it until after the holiday and he said: "Oh no, you must go into hospital tomorrow." So in actual fact I went in the next day. I also had the operation the day after.

And I think it was, it was definitely less than a fortnight from finding the lump to having it removed. So it was very good. I was then worried that it had gone into the lymph nodes. I don't know why but I always thought if it's gone into the lymph nodes, that's it. And it was four days before they checked up on that and said no it hadn't spread.

Which I must admit I felt then, up to then I felt very much as though it was a death sentence. But knowing it hadn't gone into the lymph nodes I felt a lot better about it.

And I didn't have to, at that time (because this all happened when I was 49, which was actually 18 years ago now) and I didn't have any treatment afterwards.

I was actually in hospital for ten days, they kept me in for ten days which is much longer than you would be in hospital nowadays.

But when I came out I had, I was teaching at the time and I had, it came up to the summer holidays fairly soon after that so that I had really nearly three months with no work

And then I did go back to work in the September. And I had no after effects at all. I really kept very fit indeed.

They didn't have lumpectomies so it wasn't so popular at that time.

And I know I was recommended a book to read afterwards on breast cancer and it said if you're told you're going to have a mastectomy ask for a second opinion.

I found that amusing as I'd already had mine when I read this. But I didn't think of asking for any other treatment or anything. I just took it that doctor would know, or the surgeon would know best, and I never sort of knew that there were different treatments. But I did find out, we had a talk from the breast surgeon and they sort of divided the breast up into sections and mine was right near the nipple. And apparently that area they prefer to do a mastectomy anyway rather than just a lumpectomy.

So I was quite relieved about that. I thought: "Oh well, I did have the right treatment then," you know. And I was grateful because really it's a case of a gift of life more than anything. So I'd never ever think that a surgeon was giving me the wrong treatment.

I think it's difficult for people nowadays if they're asked which sort of treatment they like because it's quite a responsibility. And often people, although the surgeon explains, I think it's often people feel they'd rather just be told what the surgeon would like to do.

Apparently nowadays that is the choice, well it is in our breast clinics - that they can have a choice of just whether they want the whole breast off, whether they want a lumpectomy, or whether they'd like to leave it to the surgeon to think what he'd like best.

And I'm sure I would leave it to the surgeon for what he thought was best if I had choices like that.