A Christmas Wish

I really didn’t think I had a Christmas Wish until Christmas Eve. Sometimes you need a spiritual flash back! Today I was thinking about what I wanted for Christmas and the question changed to what I did not want for Christmas. On November 11th I went to the hospital with flu like symptoms and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  After several tests, the doctors said, “Oh by the way we found a mass on your left lung and we need to do a biopsy. My doctor objected to an immediate biopsy because of the risk of further infection.  She said let’s heal from the pneumonia and we will go from there. I spent one week in the hospital on antibiotics. I think the hardest part were the “Pity-Eyes” from the nurses. They would try to encourage me and the doctors tried explaining metastatic breast cancer to me because I am a breast cancer survivor and they wanted me to understand finding a mass could be an indication the cancer had spread to my lungs. They had NO idea I was well aware of metastatic breast cancer. As president of a breast cancer survivorship organization, I knew more than I wanted to know at that moment. It’s easy to read and study the risks of metastases, but the fear of living it can be unbearable!

I had to take the advice I had given to other survivors to find someone you can confide in, a family member, clergy, or a friend. It is so important not to suffer in silence. I reached out to my sister-friend and I told her what I was going through. We cried together and moments later we crafted a plan to include fasting & praying. She knew whatever the next steps I needed to be in the best shape mentally, physically, and spiritually. It was 30 days later, the pneumonia cleared and it was time for the biopsy. My sister-friend & I fasted & prayed the 7 days leading up to my appointment at the cancer center. I went in and after a long day of tests, the lung specialist said, “The mass is gone. They saw the mass on your lung on November 11th but on December 11th, the mass is gone. Enjoy your holiday”.

So, although I didn’t want anything special for Christmas this year, I am very thankful for my gift of good health…THE MASS IS GONE!  Merry Christmas to me!

Madeline

Madeline Long-Gill, an African American breast cancer survivor & advocate. She is the President of Sister Network Prince George’s County, an affiliate of Sisters Network Inc. Sisters Network® Inc. (SNI), founded by Karen Jackson in 1994, a leading voice and the only national African American breast cancer survivorship organization in the United States. The organization is governed by an elected Board of Directors and assisted by an appointed medical advisory committee. SNI includes more than 40 affiliate survivor run chapters nationwide and in 2012, Sisters’ breast health outreach initiatives influenced an estimated 3.7 million families. The organization’s purpose is to help save lives and provide a broader scope of knowledge that addresses the breast cancer survivorship crisis affecting African American women around the country.