The Unknown

At the time I first met with my Breast Surgeon, Dr. Christine Teal at GW Breast Center, my cancer was Stage 1 and I wasn't aware that the biggest part of having cancer is the unknown. There is a lot of wait and see. And that you can only move forward with the information you have on hand at the time, as the layers peel back then you get a little more information. I think the unknown and inability to control any of it are some of the hardest parts of a diagnosis.

It's partly why I am just starting this blog after 3 months on this journey. I just never felt that I had enough information to share with everyone and as things kept changing it was hard to keep everyone in the loop. For some of you reading this you knew nothing about my diagnosis until today and for others you only thought I had one or two surgeries!

The Stage of a cancer helps Drs. with treatment but what I have found is that it really helps non-Drs. understand things a bit more. There is so much that goes into a cancer diagnosis and treatment plan. Mine started as Stage 1 because the tumor based on images was small but if it spreads to a lymph node, which it did, that changes the Stage. Staging is based on size and if it has spread.