Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

I had a bilateral mastectomy.    Pink Shoelaces. See p.s. for the note about them.   It was traumatic. I have not written a whole lot about how emotional the cancer journey has been for me, I tend to keep that kind of thing under wraps. In fact, this is what I wrote 5 years ago Week 21 - Surgery . I don't have any pictures of my scars or the tubes or anything but there are some memories and feelings that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I had steeled myself on the first visit to the oncologist, so even "Stage III" did not make me break down. I took it like a woman. I didn't breakdown when my hair started to fall out or when I stared back at my bald self with no eyebrows nor eyelashes. I didn't collapse under the weight of the chemo and what it did to me, but I'll tell you what broke me: The first time I unwrapped those bandages and looked at myself, and looked at the scars and the hollowed out spaces in my chest and the draini...

Last year, when I was thinking about what to do for my milestone birthday (it is also a milestone year for my husband and brother), a bilateral mastectomy wasn't on my list. However, I am inclined to look at this as having given myself a gift of insurance - insurance against future recurrence. This week has been a week that is blurred in my mind. I am at home recovering now and so far so good. I will meet with my oncologist in a couple of weeks and we can pore over the pathologist's report in detail. For now, preliminary results are very positive. I have to admit to a degree of self-pity for what I have lost and what I am unable to do for myself (not to mention how I look with tubes hanging out of me), but I know others who have gone through this and come out so much more magnificent for it and they are my inspiration. For the survivors out there, know that you have touched the lives of so many women and because of you, the rest of us are open to the possibilities. Happy ...