Breast Cancer Scare- "We Found Something-" A Story of Gratitude and a Warning
Posted: Monday, March 16, 2009
by Ken McCreless
RMS1437
Greetings Fellow Travelers
In August my wife and I will be going to the Def Leppard concert in the Woodlands Pavilion near Houston . I realize that in today's tight economy that seems to be a bit of a luxury, and that's probably right. Our original plan was to save money and pay off debts and we have been doing just that- until a couple of weeks ago.
While our overall plan is still to pay off debt and save money, we will splurge on these tickets, along with a nice hotel for the night. Why? We heard those words guaranteed to send a chill down the spine of the staunchest individual. "We found something."
She had gone in for a "routine" mammogram per the advice of her doctor. The thought of breast cancer never once entered her mind as she went through the steps of the procedure. But when it was over she left the office thinking that that was the end of it. After a few days she opened a letter from the radiologist that said those horrible words. It went on to say she needed to come in for further testing as soon as possible. She called me in the valley, 140 miles away, and told me the news. I never let on that I was scared.
After all, I am a medical professional who deals with life and death issues on a daily basis. But then, having to deal with the possibility of my wife becoming so sick was something I could have never have prepared for. But that was not the immediate problem.
She was scared and I was so far away, unable to come to her side. I comforted her as best I could over the phone and she did have her family there to help her, but I felt horrible. I wanted to be next to her, to be able to reach out and take her fear away, and I could not.
Unbeknownst to her, her doctor had already made an appointment for a more detailed round of testing which included a sonogram. This she completed today, and I can finally breathe. The breast cancer scare was just that, and the problem was lymphatic in nature. But I learned something.
I am not going to waste a minute on such puny and pitiful things as I have in the past. We will continue to build a future, but not so much that we give up the present. We will not waste money, but will be so much happier just spending time together doing things that allow us to actually be together, like walking, or just hanging out. Last Saturday, we literally "hung out;" we went shopping for frames and hung a lot of pictures! Our walls are now covered with photos of family here and gone, photos that had spent a lot of time in a box are now on display, and more are planned to follow. And we are going to see Def Leppard.
Life is so precious and short. I have seen so much death and misery in my career, more than I ever knew existed, and I can assure you of this. Some things are just not worth worrying over, but she is.
Never lose today on a hope of tomorrow. We are not promised the next minute, so if you love someone, tell them! I am lucky to be in love with a wonderful lady, and I will not take her for granted.
Therefore we will rock hard, we will rock long, but most of all, we will ROCK ON- Together
In August my wife and I will be going to the Def Leppard concert in the Woodlands Pavilion near Houston . I realize that in today's tight economy that seems to be a bit of a luxury, and that's probably right. Our original plan was to save money and pay off debts and we have been doing just that- until a couple of weeks ago.
She had gone in for a "routine" mammogram per the advice of her doctor. The thought of breast cancer never once entered her mind as she went through the steps of the procedure. But when it was over she left the office thinking that that was the end of it. After a few days she opened a letter from the radiologist that said those horrible words. It went on to say she needed to come in for further testing as soon as possible. She called me in the valley, 140 miles away, and told me the news. I never let on that I was scared.
After all, I am a medical professional who deals with life and death issues on a daily basis. But then, having to deal with the possibility of my wife becoming so sick was something I could have never have prepared for. But that was not the immediate problem.
She was scared and I was so far away, unable to come to her side. I comforted her as best I could over the phone and she did have her family there to help her, but I felt horrible. I wanted to be next to her, to be able to reach out and take her fear away, and I could not.
Unbeknownst to her, her doctor had already made an appointment for a more detailed round of testing which included a sonogram. This she completed today, and I can finally breathe. The breast cancer scare was just that, and the problem was lymphatic in nature. But I learned something.
I am not going to waste a minute on such puny and pitiful things as I have in the past. We will continue to build a future, but not so much that we give up the present. We will not waste money, but will be so much happier just spending time together doing things that allow us to actually be together, like walking, or just hanging out. Last Saturday, we literally "hung out;" we went shopping for frames and hung a lot of pictures! Our walls are now covered with photos of family here and gone, photos that had spent a lot of time in a box are now on display, and more are planned to follow. And we are going to see Def Leppard.
Life is so precious and short. I have seen so much death and misery in my career, more than I ever knew existed, and I can assure you of this. Some things are just not worth worrying over, but she is.
Never lose today on a hope of tomorrow. We are not promised the next minute, so if you love someone, tell them! I am lucky to be in love with a wonderful lady, and I will not take her for granted.
Therefore we will rock hard, we will rock long, but most of all, we will ROCK ON- Together
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write, and was born to do so. He is a freelance writer with several projects ongoing, including books and magazines. A huge fan of both irony and history, Ken has dedicated his life and his writing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
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More commentsMy dear friend! I am so glad to hear it was not cancerous! Praise the Lord for this! I can relate to being away from your spouse when things come up, but this, wow. Thank God she had family close by. Sometimes these big scares are what we need to help us remember what is important. I happen to love Def Leppard, so I am jealous :-) I was a sophmore in high school when they came out. I had posters of joe elliot on my wall. ha! I can just see him spinning on that wheel in his tight, white jeans and white muscle shirt, singing "f-f--f-oolin". ha!Rock on, friend! I am praising the Lord with you and for you! TeresaHi Teresa! "Relieved" does not begin to express my feelings when I found out the good news. Put things in perspective though.I actually just finished booking the room for the trip. It's the same place we stayed when we saw them there in '07. It was quite a trip. We were on our way to Houston in a driving rain when I got the offer for the job I'm at now, actually. I am so looking forward to havng an awesome time, hopefully without the "Dude, Where's my car?" experience , but that is another article!!Thank you for your time and comments, Teresa. You are a blessing to me. and"We just got to Fly!"
It is very hard to hear that your wife may have cancer- thank goodness it was only a scare. Great article well done.Thanks, Connor. It really makes me appreciate her, more than ever.Thank you for your time and comments.
Ken,Great news, but the specter is about us and it's on the increase. I don't like to pull punches . . . so here it is.Unfortunately, as you probably know, 60% of Americans are obese. And the number of cancer cases is on the rise. I was diagnosed with cancer six years ago. I went through the radiation and the chemotherapy. No matter what anyone tells you it is complete and utter hell. Interestingly enough, because of my faith, however, I knew I would make it through from the outset. My surgeon who diagnosed the cancer looked more concerned than me. But the cold hard facts are that 2 out of 3 Americans will get cancer, unless the people get their diets under control.Personally, I'm on vitamins, protein drinks, supplement shakes, work out three times a week along with walks and other activities with the family. And these are great preventative medicines, but the greatest medicine is that of getting in touch with our mortality, finding our eternal spiritual nature and clinging to He who brings eternal joy and happiness to our spiritual nature.The physical is so fleeting. Consider that in 140 years all alive now will be dead, unless miracles occur. And considering the endless years that have come and will go where is our focus? Hope I didn't get too preachy, but too many people pass off and pass over the realities often running up against great fear and trepidation upon catastrophe in their lives and the lives of others. "The only thing to fear is fear itself." And He who has overcome all is where our focus should be. Anywhere else will only bring fear to our hearts. I have seen it over and over and over again. But those with an eternal perspective fear not and, unfortunately or not, that is where we all need to be or fear will rule.God bless you and your wife. May you fear less and less as the years go on and the inevitable approaches. Peace!Processed foods contribute to both cancer and obesity, but Americans are hooked on the convenience. I hear your message, Jeff. I don't know if you caught my article on fighting depression, if not check it out.Thanks for your time and your comments. Always appreciated.Yeah, and those chemicals are a killer too. I started to check out the article. I'll go back and finish reading it. Peace!
My wife went through the cancer scare many years ago, but all is well. I do, however, know what you were feeling and it sure ain't nice. I'm glad all has turned out okay. Blessings to you.Thanks David. No, there is nothing nice about it, but the zeal to enjoy being together. Thank you for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it.
Ken, I don't give out a lot of "straight 5's", but I did in this case. Kiss your wife...go to more concerts...see the world...life is short (and sometimes unfairly shorter)...loved your articleWill do, Judy. I plan on no wasted time in seeing what life has to offer. I hope you'll do the same. Thank you for taking the time to read and for the kind words. It means a lot.
hi ken,i am so glad your wife is okay.i have had that scare, i know what it feels like to wait for test results that may change your life. and i, too, was then told it was nothing.my mom also died of breast cancer, so it's scary.i, too, have learned to pick my battles, ironically, by going through battles:)lessons beat you up and then spit you out on the concrete and on your head, but they are lessons that improve the quality of our lives, like not sweating the small stuff, unless it is a grasshopper to watch, in all it's wonder, just doing what it was meant to do, or a flower living all alone amid the blades of grass that surround it like a green velvet blanket.i hope and know you will have a blast at the concert.enjoy,my best regards,sueThank you, Sue. It really is the litttle things that make all the difference, isn't it? I have actually watched a grasshopper as you described. I tell you, I was a WIERD kid!We certainly will have a blast at the concert. Maybe we'll meet Bruce and Jean at Chuy's!! Great pic, by the way.Thanks again, Sue. I
Ken,Wonderful, beautiful article. I discovered some years ago that life is too short which is why I take the time to smell the roses (and breathe!).I am so happy for both you and your wife and I was touched to see the message she left you. You are both blessed, truly blessed.Thank you for a story with a wonderful ending!NancyHi Nancy. Yes, we are truly blessed. I can't believe I found someone so sweet.Thank you for the kind words, and for reading. I really appreciate it.
I heard about this article and about your family from my husband Chiradeep. We are praying for your family. Thanks for telling everybody.Thank you for taking the time to read my article. It means a lot to me.
Ken, thanks for writing about this. I have been there also - it was determined not to be cancerous - and have a good friend who had to live it through. She is cancer free for about 3 years now, though she still has to take meds and is dealing with the residue of each drug. To be confronted with illness and our mortality is an unsettling thing.Thank you, Lorrie. The courage of these women astounds me. They are true heroes. I appreciate your taking the time to read and respond.
Hi Ken,Great article. So glad to hear your wife is fine and you both learned a valuable life lesson. Yes, plan for the future, and live in the present. It really is the only time we have for sure, isn't it?Rock on, rock on. ValIt's amazing how plans and priorities change. We all know about the inevitable, but don't seem to KNOW about ours.That concert is going to be awesome! We saw them there in Aug of '07. No friends this time, just a sweet get away.Thank you, Val. Where have you been?Hi Ken,
Read my new article, It's been a difficult month, to answer that question! It's really nice to know that people here have noticed I was "missing" and care. Thank you:)
BTW, the comment your wife left you brought tears to my eyes. You obviously have something very special. Blessings to you both!
Be sure to let us know about that concert!
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