![\"Cheryl](\"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/images\/stories\/2017Oct\/celliott.jpg\")
Eleanor Roosevelt said, \u201cA woman is like a tea bag \u2013 you can\u2019t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.\u201d My hot water was an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis last year.<\/p>\n<\/b><\/p>\n
For four and a half years as emergency services coordinator for Fluvanna County, I served as an advocate for fire and rescue agencies. My job was to make sure the crews had everything they needed to provide the very best emergency response for those in their darkest hours and in the most vulnerable of positions. But it was at that moment on the driveway that everything seemed to culminate. Few providers, including myself, have seen the inside of an ambulance from the patient\u2019s perspective. That was about to change.
Boiling waters<\/i>
The ambulance ride with lights and sirens was precipitated by a severe anaphylactic reaction to the Lidocaine used during the biopsy. Before I was released from the hospital two days later, I got the results of that biopsy: stage one invasive ductile carcinoma, which is the most common type of breast cancer.<\/b><\/p>\n
Often there is no rhyme or reason to whom this disease strikes. My journey through this disease, experiencing the whole gamut \u2013 chemotherapy and its ugly side effects, breast surgery and reconstruction \u2013 has reminded me exactly how strong of a woman I am. I think I must be a rich, dark, fruity black tea!<\/b><\/p>\n
Here is a bit of back story. On New Year\u2019s Day, my brother sent this message: \u201cMay 2016 be a year of adventure and blessing!\u201d I really like the idea of pairing adventure and blessing. A friend poo-pooed the idea, saying, \u201cAdventure isn\u2019t always a positive thing. Sometimes it turns out very wrong.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
The dictionary says an adventure is \u201can unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.\u201d It\u2019s a daring endeavor, calling for enterprise and enthusiasm, especially in exploration of an unknown territory. Since I tend to look at everything in life as an adventure, why not treat breast cancer as an adventure? But could I see it also as a blessing?<\/b><\/p>\n
A blessing is God\u2019s favor and protection, conducive to well-being and happiness. Teamed together my brother\u2019s message could be phrased: \u201cMay this breast cancer adventure bring unusual and exciting experiences, bursting with God\u2019s favor, protection and well-being!\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
As it turns out, my breast cancer diagnosis has brought both adventure and blessing. As a result, I wish my experiences to bring encouragement and hope to women facing similar hot waters. But recounting that journey is a story for another day.<\/p>\n
This is the first of a two-part series examining Cheryl Elliott\u2019s experience with breast cancer.<\/i><\/b>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eleanor Roosevelt said, \u201cA woman is like a tea bag \u2013 you can\u2019t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.\u201d My hot water was an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis last year.<\/p>\n
Tepid waters<\/i>
I finally went to see my lady doctor for all those annual exams that I had conveniently avoided for a couple of years. The blood work showed high cholesterol, which I attributed to stress, and I promptly resolved to live a healthier lifestyle and exchange my chocolate meals for broccoli. The mammogram, however, wasn\u2019t so easily dismissed. Because I had had false indications before \u2013 just dense tissue and shadows \u2013 I wasn\u2019t concerned about going back for additional tests. However, the 1.5-centimeter mass was easy to spot on the monitor. The radiologist coming in to chat was my second clue that all was not well.<\/b><\/p>\n
Two biopsies were promptly scheduled to check the mass and another area with calcifications. Because I freaked out about being strapped tightly in the mammogram machine, they used ultrasound to biopsy the mass. They would wait to test the calcifications. After the procedure, I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, numb, disoriented. What was I facing? Was it just another false alarm? Would it be cancer this time?<\/b><\/p>\n
After the traumatization of the biopsy, I just wanted to go home. To do so, I needed to drive an hour across Afton Mountain back to Fluvanna. Should I go home or to my sister\u2019s house north of Harrisonburg? I decided that I didn\u2019t want to be alone. I believe that decision was God\u2019s way of protecting me. If I had turned south on I-81, I probably would not have survived the trip. The biopsy procedure turned out not to be routine.