About a month ago I had my first mammogram, I have no idea why I decided I should have one… it’s not like I’d received a letter from Breast Screen SA to say that I was old enough now for a freebie, I just woke up one morning and decided that I’m an old girl now and it was time to get the boobies squished. A friend and I decided to make it a lunch date, we had an average lunch, a good yarn and then headed to the bus in Jamestown to have our boobies squished so tight it made our eyes water.
Anyhoo, about a week later I got a phone call to say there was a lump in my left boob and they needed me to come to Adelaide for further examinations. I didn’t sleep for a week waiting for that bloody appointment, I cried every night, I didn’t know how to tell my kids that there was a possibility that I had cancer, in a nutshell I had my non-funeral/piss up at the local pub (with everyone wearing outrageous colours and wigs) 100% organised. The only thing I didn’t obsess over was losing my hair as a result of having chemo.
When I told a local friend that I had to go to Adelaide for further tests she insisted on taking the day off work to drive me to Adelaide… this incredibly strong woman has fought numerous types of cancer and lived to be a pillar of strength to people like me who was shitting myself. We solved the world’s problems on the three hour drive to Adelaide then the ‘further examinations’ began. The process took all afternoon and I think Mels-Bells was just as worried as I was but she made me laugh, she explained to me every step of the way what was about to happen and she kept me calm. I will always love her for that because I haven’t even know this girl very long but just like so many women who continue to come into my life she is strong, she is kind, she is resilient and she knows how to look after others.
Turns out the lump in my left boob is just another lump of fat (as if I don’t have enough already), a cyst or a lymph node with absolutely no cancerous cells. I tell ya what though, I learnt so much in that week of waiting for the appointment, I learnt AGAIN that life is way too short to stay in bad relationships, it’s way too short to stay in jobs that are unfulfilling, it’s way too short not to travel to all the places you want to visit, it’s way too short to work 5-6 days a week (which I’m only going to keep doing until mid-2020 when I finish my Enrolled Nursing studies) and I learnt that it’s vitally important to surround yourself with people who love and accept you no matter what and to tell your loved ones how much you love them every chance you get.
FYI: in South Australia you can have a free boobie squish at the age of 40, so get on it girls!!!
The bald and the beautiful? 
Glad you had a good outcome my friend. Went through the same thing a couple of years ago and it is soooooo stressful. I was lucky that I did not have to wait as long as you did. You are so right – life is too short to not do things that make you happy. xx
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