Flashback: Diagnosis Day

Tuesday, March 9.  4:45 p.m.  In front of Hamburger Heaven, in West Palm Bach, FL, after trading voice mails earlier in the day, I received a call back from Teresa Harrington at Georgetown.  I had been on edge about waiting for the results of the biopsy.  But I really did not expect bad news.  I was just anxious for the waiting to be over so I could kick back and enjoy the rest of my vacation.


That was not to be.  She told me it was invasive breast cancer.  Based on the look on my face and the tone in my voice, my mom immediately handed me a small notebook and pen and I started scribbling down words.  "moderate."  "very small".  "don't yet know if it is sensitive to..."  "surgery."  "no enlarged lymph nodes."  "if the MRI gives us surprises, more questionable areas, then..."  "gene testing - if a gene mutation carrier is positive, have a 40-65% chance of developing cancer in the opposite breast...increased risk of ovarian cancer."  "very treatable."  My appointment the following week was to be with Dr. Cocilovo.  "hospital."  "surgery."  (yes, I wrote that one down twice)


And then 15 minutes later, everything had changed.


Not knowing what else to do, after I cried, we walked down to the ocean and I took pictures.  The next few days, I cried.  And I took pictures.  The Blowing Rocks Preserve the next day brought me out of my fog for a moment.  The day after that I went for a run in West Palm Beach and told myself that if I could get myself to finish the run, I could get through all this.  And I found a moment of peace later that afternoon at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden.

West Palm Beach, 3/9/10, 6:41 p.m.

Blowing Rocks Preserve, Jupiter, FL, 3/10/10

Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, West Palm Beach, 3/11/10