Finding Hope Blog – The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

Sandra at the 2010 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

I was diagnosed in 2006 with breast cancer and I am still fighting it five years later. It has been a long journey but I will never give up hope for a cure.  We have been taking part in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure for four years now. My family and friends have shown love and support for me every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without them. On Oct. 2, 2011 I ask everyone to come out and walk or run for the cure.

Sandra Desautels

Maggie (right) with Jacquie (left) at the 2009 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure in Brampton.

Every year, thousands of Canadian women are touched by breast cancer. It not only impacts the women and men living and fighting the disease, but it also affects their families, friends and loved ones. In 1986 I found myself dealing with the very early phases of breast cancer and with the help of a very dedicated and determined family doctor, I was one of the lucky ones. After very minor surgery and two weeks of radiation treatments, I was lucky and could say I was a survivor. Never did I believe I would again be battling this terrible disease, but this time, I would be on the outside and watching someone I treasured my whole life as the sister I never had, fighting the battle of her life.

In January 2009 I heard those terrible words again and this time it hurt so much worse than I could ever have imagined. My best and dearest friend in the world called me and told me she had found a lump, gone to the doctor’s and they had just performed a biopsy. Just a few days later the dreadful call came and I heard that very frightened voice say…it’s malignant — it’s cancer, and Jacquie’s journey began!

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Kim's Rat Pack at the 2010 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

I was 43 years old. It was Sunday, June 6, 2010. My husband was not home at the time I took my shower and discovered a large lump in my right breast while washing. I was alone with our seven–year-old son and five-year old daughter. I was a little shocked at the size of the lump, a little scared but also a little confident that it would be nothing. I called my family doctor from work first thing Monday morning and went in to see her that day. She thought it was a cyst that she could easily drain right then and there. Upon attempting to do so, it was obvious that it was not a cyst. A mammogram and ultrasound were scheduled immediately. Two days later, while undergoing the mammogram and ultrasound, my confidence was shattering as the technician did a very thorough exam of my right breast. She told me to call my family doctor that afternoon as they would be faxing the results over as soon as I left. I knew at that point that the news would not be good. I was informed that same afternoon that I would have to have a biopsy done to confirm that it was cancer but they were almost positive that it was. From that point, I had a biopsy done on my right breast and then an MRI which revealed something in my left breast as well. An MRI-guided biopsy of the left breast showed cancer present there as well.

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Gisella and her husband, Team 2 G's, at the 2010 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure in York Region.

In my family, it was called the Big “C.” Therefore, I was NOT surprised when I was diagnosed in 2007 with DCIS in the right breast since it runs in my family like poisonous weeds! I was sort of expecting it to show up at some time!

I did everything I was told to do: lumpectomy, biopsy, another lumpectomy, clear margins then radiation, recuperation and rest. Finally I got a clean bill of health and chose to forget I ever had it. I felt I had paid my dues to the Big “C.”

However, I was really very surprised when cancer came back less than two years later in 2009 in the same breast, same spot and same kind of cancer! After a difficult decision process, I had a single mastectomy.

For the next six months, my focus was on appointments for reconstruction options. Due to other health issues (Fibromyalgia), I was told that reconstruction would have to wait. I had only two jobs to do for now:  1) to heal and  2) to live.

Although I was disappointed, I began searching for a prosthesis. When I finally got the right fit, my quirky sense of humour set in. Since it was now going to be so much a part of me, I called my new prosthesis “Geraldine.”

Geraldine quickly got introduced to all my family and friends. Everyone knows that she gets to be front and centre in all pictures; she gets her own pillow and travels in the best bras!! Like any relationship, we have our ups and downs since she is always perky even when my other side is not. (Ha ha.) I do not need a prosthesis to make me feel like a woman or to make my life complete, but having Geraldine in place allows me to forget the physical aspects of a radical procedure.

With or without Geraldine, I live my life in forward motion: I do not look back. I don’t know if I am done with cancer in my life. I can only deal with today. I must feel joyful, hopeful and continue to walk with my chest out and proud of my scars.

I know that it is through the efforts of all those who have fundraised before me that I am able to introduce humour to my cancer story. Because of the research and medical advances in the last 30 years, I am not a statistic like my 25-year-old sister. I must still be diligent in my self-care, and medical care and support, but I live happily in the moment. I tell my Geraldine stories in the hopes of inspiring others to have courage through their cancer journey, in whichever way works for them.

We are Team 2 G’s in York Region. Last year I was asked to speak as a Survivor for the 2010 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. I was thrilled to have so much support standing in front of me – from my grandchildren, my kids and husband, family members, and lots of friends and strangers. I felt so much love and excitement and I had to shout it out: “I am happy, healthy and damn it, I’m still here!!”

Thanks,

- Gisella