Survivor Story: A village of Support

by: BARB MCMAHON

I went for my usual Mammogram (delayed 6 months because of Covid). The tech was taking more pictures than usual. I said something to my husband that evening, and he said I should wait until the radiologist read my results. Two days later I got a call from the doctor in the breast clinic. She wanted me to come in to talk. I then found out I had suspicious changes in both of my breasts. She then asked if we could do some biopsies. We did it right away that afternoon.

The clinic said they would let me know when they received the results. We decided to go to our cabin for a long weekend. On Tuesday we got THE phone call, and the biopsies came back as cancer. My husband took the phone call, and I could tell by his facial expression that the news was not good. I cried most of the day. I asked God, why me? I have no family history of breast cancer. Since I made the decision to have both breasts removed and reconstruction done at the same time, the surgery date was delayed. So, after I shared this with my family of five girls, they came over and said they would be on my team to pray for me. So, this was the last part of April.

Previously we had made the decision to move out of our home we had lived in for 30 years. We started packing up our house on May 12, 2022. We had so much stuff! I started to get things ready for a big garage sale. I asked people to help because we had to keep somethings for the next house. The garage sale was a success. This took my mind off the cancer.

We still had a lot to pack up, but we were going to downsize. We waited until after my surgery for the final packing. I chose to remove both breasts and have reconstruction done at the same time. It was a long surgery. I don’t remember much after the surgery. The next day both doctors came in to see me. They asked if I wanted to stay another day and I said no. I like being at home, Hospitals tend to be loud. Mary brought in some heart pillows from the Beyond Pink TEAM support group to put under my arms. They were such a relief. I had a village that surrounded me with a lot of love and encouragement. The pink team answered all my questions, and gave me a bag to carry everything home in.

When I got home my daughters had made a sign to welcome me home. They had a dinner for us, and then my youngest daughter gave me a boob puzzle. I loved their sense of humor! They were keeping my spirits up. I had sent a prayer request to our church and that goes online. The cards and casseroles started coming in. I felt God was taking CARE OF ME. My husband made an encouragement board for me. All cards and Smacks went up on this board.

​I believe that God brought me through this. I was very close to Him and listened to Him. It ‘s been a year since the diagnosis, and I am doing well. My endurance is almost back to baseline. Both cancers turned out to be early and no lymph nodes were involved. I did not need radiation or chemo. I am on an anti estrogen pill that I tolerate well. - I am grateful.

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