The Gift

Discovering the gifts of breast cancer

Blogs

Marie Henderson - The Gift

Blog 1
Are you talking about me

I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The radiologist and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) were using words such as malignancy, surgery and radiotherapy. It was surreal...
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Blog 2
Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Game changer!

My friend and I were really looking forward to hearing the results of my surgery at post-operative outpatients appointment...
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Blog 3
Retirement and radical mastectomy

I was so fortunate to be able to return to work for 8 days prior to my next surgery. It was really important to me to finish in a professional manner...
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Blog 4
1st cycle of chemo 4th January 2022

I had imagined the nurse hanging up my chemo bags and letting them infuse over a 2-3 hour period, occasionally popping in to make sure all was going well...
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Blog 5
Keep your hair on!

“Hey lady”. Mr 5-year-old sped toward me from across the culdesac on his tiny scooter, red and yellow flames on the footboard no doubt making him feel very sporty and brave; “You want to see how high I can jump?”
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Blog 6
We’re not doing chemo!

“You’ve had a torrid time”. My Medical Oncologist reacted in an affirming manner as I plonked myself down next to her desk. “We’re not doing chemo”, she said.
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Blog 7
Dancing with the machine!

You can breathe and swallow but don’t move “No … no … don’t try to help … we’ll move you”. The 2 radiation technicians focus intently on the alignment of laser lines with the 4 tiny radiotherapy tatoos on my chest...
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Blog 8
Gidday mate & gender uncertainty.

“Gidday mate. You OK?”. The dust-covered ATV (all-terrain vehicle) had been following our motorhome through several tight bends on the narrow, rutted east coast road. There were no safe opportunities to let the vehicle pass. Road signs said “Uneven surface”.
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Blog 9
What now?

Not a question I can answer. “This might not be a fair question … will the fact that I only had one of the six chemotherapy sessions affect my prognosis … shorten my life?"
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Blog 10
Where are the gifts?

“I don’t think that cancer is a gift. I don’t think God gives gifts like cancer”. My friend looked both quizzical and concerned after I had spoken about aspects of my journey during a Breast Cancer
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Blog 11
1st Anniversary

“November the 18th”, I casually commented as I stepped into the shower. “It’s a year since my mastectomy and clearance of lymph nodes” “Oh is it?”, husband Jim responded, not quite awake. “How do you feel about only having one? Do you notice?”
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Blog 12
Just Ask

“That’s a very big breast. Would you like me to make it smaller?”, my surgeon asked during my recent surgical follow-up appointment. His inquiring eyes looked straight into mine. “It’s been 2 years since your mastectomy. It’s up to you ....
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Blog 13
Freedom

“I thought you had a couple of ablations to sort your crazy heart rhythms out”, my surgeon said as his fingers gently probed around my recently implanted defibrillator. “They didn’t think about putting it on the other side?”
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Blogs

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