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Lost for words
Since my diagnosis I’ve discovered that cancer doesn’t just come with side effects. It also comes with a script. Almost everyone reaches for the same handful of phrases. They’re not meant to hurt. They’re usually an attempt to fill an awkward silence, offer comfort, or make sense of something that feels really frightening. Sometimes, though,…
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Captured!
The next few days became a whirlwind of tests and appointments at both the main hospital and local community clinics. Looking back at my diary as I write this, I attended six separate appointments in the space of just ten days. Before long, it became a logistical challenge simply keeping track of where I’d been,…
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Lots of words I sort of recognised
My appointment to see a breast surgeon duly arrived through the post a couple of days later. This time, my husband took me to the clinic on the Monday morning and we listened together as, the breast surgeon explained that my “poached quail’s egg” was in fact a 30mm grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma that…
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“D’you think it’s cancer?”
At the time of writing, women in the UK are routinely invited for free NHS breast screening at some point during the three years after their 50th birthday, and then every three years until they reach the age of 71. Breast screening uses a test called a mammogram, which takes two quick X-rays of each…
