Since I can remember, there have been so many memories created with Aunt Jill from toddler photo shoots with my cousin Jessica, to jet skiing around the lake last summer. During the summer of 2014 Jill was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and I thought that this was the end, possibly the last time that I would see her, but that was not the case. She fought long and hard through chemotherapy, and was cancer free but it came back in her lymph nodes in 2016, but this time the fight was not as easy. She went through many different treatments and surgeries, hoping that they would all help in the long run. It was a hot summer day at the end of July, and I was preparing to go paint “Senior” on my car with friends, but my dad got the call and quickly told me, “Aunt Jill has been admitted the hospital and is not doing too well, she might not make it through the night”. Sitting alone on the bathroom floor, my heart was trembling, thinking about if I would ever get to see her again since she is so far away. A few hours later I boarded a plane to …show more content…
Her face and body was swollen, even her wedding ring was so tight that it could not be taken off and she looked nothing like herself. As I sat there, I tried to think of all the exciting times that we had together, but it was too hard to remember the good. Sitting there, I was afraid to get close because I could not keep it together and this is the worst condition I have seen her in, since I just saw her a month ago and she was doing okay. I was told that we would come back to visit the next morning, but as I woke up the next day, I felt that it was a little too late to leave. Not even thirty minutes goes by and I had been told that she did not make it and had passed away around eight this morning. I lost it. I regretted not saying “I love you” or even a simple “goodbye” while I was at the hospital for
With knowing that death was taking place and that I had only a few short more days with her, nothing I said seemed to be enough. No words I thought I said could make a difference. While this was happening I was hurt, angry, and confused. I was hurt because, I didn’t want my tenant to leave me, and I never got
David’s rehab center on 32nd. So they sent her off to that facility. The whole family agreed that would be great, so she would be able to gain her mobility back. It's February now and after doing all of the therapy my grandmother would be coming home Friday, February the 12th, wow this felt like the worse was coming to an end and she was coming home tomorrow morning. But God had other plans, we had got a call that Friday morning at 3:45 am saying that heart had stopped and that it was unknown how long she had been down, they said it took them ten minutes to get a pulse started and they battled for an hour to stabilize her heartbeat. This was it. She’s gone. But we have to keep the faith when we arrived at the hospital she had only been stable for about five minutes. This to us already was tragic news they had her on a ventilator, which is also known as life support. We knew that at this point in time the lady that was holding the family together was now holding on to her life. The doctors told us that the worst case scenario she could be brain dead, they ran the test and finally found out why her heart stopped. My grandmother had had a pulmonary embolism which is a condition when one or more arteries in the lungs are blocked by a blood clot. This embolism caused her heart to stop. The cooled her body temperature all the way down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit to protect her brain. When they did the CAT scan they revealed that she was, in fact, brain dead and without the machine she wouldn’t
Breast cancer is a type of cancer originates from breast tissue, generally from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas whereas from ducts are called ductal carcinomas. (Ref: Breast Cancer, National Cancer Institute) Invasive breast cancer is breast cancer that has spread from the point of origin in the breast ducts/lobules to the surrounding normal tissue cells. In exceptional cases, breast cancer can start in at other sites in breast. Breast cancer occurs in both women and men, though male breast cancer is uncommon.
About 12% of women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, more than any other type of cancer (www.breastcancer.org, 2015). Many people lack the knowledge of how breast cancer is developed. Some people think they will not get cancer because they do not smoke cigarettes, but this is not the only cause of cancer developing in the breast. Anyone can get cancer. Everyone is potentially at risk for developing some form of Cancer (American Cancer Society, 2015).
Breast Cancer is a disease that can sometime lead to ovarian cancer and has caused a lot of women’s death. “About five to ten percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result from gene defects called mutations inherited from a parent”. Related Risks early menstruation, oral contraceptives and child bearing 20 percent. (1)An environmental risk is that toxins can damage breast DNA. Over time damaged DNA can lead to cancer. Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. “1 of 8 breast cancer are found when women are younger than 45. 2 of 3 breast cancer are found in women age 55 years or older 75 percent greater chance”.(1) Breast Cancer can lead Peutz Jeghers syndrome the effects of Peutz Jeghgers is spots on your lips and in their mouths. Women with no children or who had a child after age 30 have slightly higher breast cancer risk. “Screening for breast cancer is early diagnosis increases chance of survival and annual mammogram after age 40”. Women who took Diethylstilbestrol while pregnant could have a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer. Birth control peals also cause higher risks 40 to 50 percent for breast cancer risk calms down after they have stopped taking them.(1) Using combined hormone therapy after menopause increase the risk of getting breast cancer , it also increase women chances of dying from it. If you are over weight or obese after menopause greatly increase breast cancer risk 20 percent. Drinking alcohol can cause a major effect for you to start developing breast cancer the risk increase the more you drink. Tobacco smoke, Night work, Antiperspirants, Bras and Induced abortion. Breast cancer takes a lot of toll on women and men of all races and...
In life we come across many struggles and hardships. Some have more struggles then others but we all have them. Breast cancer could be one of those struggles whether male or female. Breast cancer is not just something that a woman can get like most people believe. Anyone can get it. In this essay you will about what breast cancer is, some symptoms, how it is treated, and my personal experience with it. Most people do not know what breast cancer is they just know that it is cancer in the breast.
Today in the United States, Breast Cancer occurs in about one in eight women which is currently the most common cancer among women. The number of cases is expected to decrease due to the advancements in technology and dedicated researchers. Scientists have put an estimated 4.8 billion dollars towards the research every year to help find a cure or a new treatment for breast cancer ("STAT Facts Breast Cancer"). Researchers have found causes, put in research and theories that help with understanding treatments, prevention and also common symptoms and coping mechanisms.
Breast Cancer is defined as “a group of solid tumor malignancies arising in the tissues of the breast” (Sarah Crawford, Richard Alder, 2013) in human and other mammals. It can happen to both men and women. For women, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. According to National Cancer Institute, in the United States, the 2014 estimated new cases and deaths of female from breast cancer are 232,670 and 40,000, respectively. For male, it’s 430 deaths out of 2,360 new cases. From these numbers, we can see that women in the U.S. are greatly affected by breast cancer, thus, it’s not difficult to imagine the impact on a worldwide level. Although these numbers look frightening, people can actually survive from breast cancer if it is detected early and treated properly, so it is extremely important for all of us, especially women, to have a better understanding of breast cancer.
Nancy was only four years old when her grandmother died. Her grandmother had a big lump on the lower right hand side of her back. The doctors removed it, but it was too late. The tumor had already spread throughout her body. Instead of having a lump on her back, she had a long stitched up incision there. She couldn’t move around; Nancy’s parents had to help her go to the bathroom and do all the simple things that she use to do all by herself. Nancy would ask her grandmother to get up to take her younger sister, Linh, and herself outside so they could play. She never got up. A couple of months later, an ambulance came by their house and took their grandmother away. That was the last time Nancy ever saw her alive. She was in the hospital for about a week and a half. Nancy’s parents never took them to see her. One day, Nancy saw her parents crying and she have never seen them cry before. They dropped Linh and her off at one of their friend’s house. Nancy got mad because she thought they were going shopping and didn’t take her with them.
I, of course, knew my mother as a mother. As I have reached adulthood and become a mother myself, I have also known her as a friend. My mom shared much of herself with me, and I saw sides of my mother as she struggled with her cancer that I had never seen before, especially her strong belief in positive thinking and the importance of quality of life. I was privileged to know so many facets of my mother, but certainly I did not know all. There were parts of her life that I didn’t see, relationships that I didn’t know about. Last night, at the wake, so many stories were told to me about my mom’s strength, courage, humor, kindness, her quietness, her loyalty as a friend. It was so special to hear of these things that my mom said and did, to know some of these other parts of her life. I hope that her friends and family will continue to share these stories with me and with each other so we can continue to know and remember my mom.
I had the pleasure to interview my grandma, Olga Hernandez. She was born on November 8, 1951 in Cuba. She worked in a workshop making clocks. After she retired, she took care of me while my mom worked. I consider her to be my second mom because she lived with me for eight years. She taught me love, discipline, manners, etc. My grandma is: strong, beautiful, caring, and passionate. Most importantly, she is a breast cancer survivor. I chose to interview my grandma because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I couldn’t think of a better time to do this interview. I like her story because although it’s sad, it has a happy ending. It shows you that no matter how hard things get, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
I know she heard us but she never opened her eyes again until that last moment, she opened her eyes one last night and my grandma told my great grandma “it’s okay mama go ahead daddy’s waiting for you I love you” that was when she took her last breath. It was July 29th around 3am when my dad came in my room and told me “Haley I’m going to the hospital grandma is gone.” At first I just said okay I was in a dead sleep so I didn’t comprehend it in that exact moment. A few minutes later I got out of bed I heard my brother pull in the drive way he left work early to come home and he and I sat and looked though pictures together shedding tears and laughing and asking each other if we remembered this. We all went up my great grandma’s house where all the family gathered about an hour and a half later. Even then I was fine it wasn’t until my grandma walked in the door which is my great grandmas daughter as soon as she did she just sat in my great grandmas’ chair and stated sobbing and that’s when it hit me that she was really gone this wasn’t just some dream it was real. I could taste salt from my tears running down my face into my mouth. After that it was all a complete
Breast Cancer As defined by Majure, breast cancer is an “uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells” (Majure: 110). It is also one of the cancers that women fear the most. Not only do women get diagnosed with breast cancer, men do too. However, it isn't as bad, or as common, in men as it is in women, so doctors don’t recommend screening for men.
It was June 6, 2011. I remember taking my mother to the County Hospital’s emergency room. She seemed extremely exhausted; her eyes were half-closed and yellow, and she placed her elbow on the armchair, resting her head on her palm. I remember it was crowded and the wait was long, so she wanted to leave. I was the only one there with her, but I did not allow her to convince me to take her home. I told her in Spanish, “Mom, let’s wait so that we can get this over with and know what’s going on with you. You’ll see everything is okay, and we’ll go home later on.” I wish then and now that would have been the case. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to many parts of her body including her lungs and kidneys. The doctor said to me not considering that I was a minor and my mother’s daughter, “Her disease is very advanced and we don’t think she will live longer than a year.” With this devastating news, I did not know what to do. I thought to myself that perhaps I should cry, or try to forget and take care of her as best I could and make her laugh to ease her pain.
I don’t think that biology played a large piece in my thoughts, feelings, or actions after this event. I felt fine when I was coming home from school, so I wasn’t sick. I wasn’t in a fight or flight situation, I just wasn’t expecting to come home to bad news like this. When they told me I was not totally shocked because I knew she wasn’t doing that well, but I had still hoped she would be okay. I think that the thoughts, feelings, and actions were more important than biology for this.