August 2017, As I rolled over in bed and touched my breast I was not prepared to find a lump, but I did! Next morning called my doctor n he sent me to our cancer center! There I met with a doctor whom I won’t mention as he had NO bed side manor! When we left appointment I told them I would never see him again, so they gave me a new one for next visit!! He is no longer at our Cancer center! There is so much to go through before you have a definite diagnosis n then lots of preparation, which I won’t go in to detail about as some is no fun! When my surgery was scheduled I was nervous but just wanted to get it done! I was fortunate to be able to have a lumpectomy, but the drain tubes not so great! Okay moving forward they sent the lump to be tested n the surgery had not got it all there was a small margin, so in two weeks I was back in surgery to take more tissue around it n this time he got it all!!! You know through all of this my dear daughter said from the beginning, “Mom we will get through this together n you must stay positive “ well I did n can honestly say I never said why me, just knew I had to get through it! Then chemo n radiation which was not bad for me as I never because sick or had terrible side effects as so many do!! You know as you sit in the waiting room at CC you look at all of the people waiting for treatment n realize you are certainly not alone in this journey n know many are much worse off then yourself! As of this past August 2022 I am delighted to say I am cancer free 🙏🏻 thank the Lord! I do have to were a lymphedema sleeve because of removal if lymph nodes n my dear husband does MLD on my arm everyday so to keep swelling down, which didn’t happen till two years after surgery! Through all of this journey my husband was there every step of the process n not sure I could have done it without him n he is my rock n I love him with my heart n soul!!! Cancer is certainly an eye opener n with all of the things they can do for treatment nowadays it is amazing n I am blessed to have survived it! Our loving children all helped keep me strong throughout the journey also! Just remember GET YOUR MAMMOGRAM!!!! Because when I turned 70 medicare would no longer pay for mammogram’s so mine appeared at 74 n now they pay till whenever n if it had been caught early it may have been different but can’t say What if???

Part of my Breast Cancer Journey is already shared above. As October 19th approaches, I am still Cancer free. I have a Mammogram scheduled for October 11th and I must admit that they are always scary for me. Terrified that they will find Cancer again. My doctor’s have been wonderful and watch me very closely. I see either my Oncologist or Surgeon every three months. This year they even had me go for Mammograms every 6 months. I feel blessed that my Breast Cancer was caught early, Stage 2. I had a lumpectomy and did not have to have any lymph nodes removed. My Oncologist gave me the choice, after my surgery, on how I wanted to proceed. I told her that I wanted to do whatever was necessary for my long term survival. I had four rounds of Chemo, which I had an adverse reaction to that landed me in the hospital for four days after the first treatment. I continued to get ill after every Chemo treatment. I’d still do it again. Then came 21 days of radiation. GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS. That’s how my Breast Cancer was caught!

Unfortunately, Breast Cancer wasn’t my first Cancer diagnosis. Just about two years prior I went to have my yearly check up with my Dermatologist. He asked me if I wanted him to do a full body checkup and, thankfully, I said YES. He discovered two areas he was concerned about. A spot on my abdomen and on the top of my head. As it turns out the spot on my abdomen was a Melanoma, the most dangerous kind of skin cancer and the spot on the top of my head was Basel Cell Sarcoma. Thank God I said “YES”. Both Cancers were in the early stages and were removed and I didn’t have to have treatment. I make sure that I keep my checkup appointments!! My skin Cancers were caused by too much sun exposure when I was young. I grew up in Southern California and practically lived at the beach. Little did I know that the tans I was getting were actually setting me up for skin Cancer later in life. WEAR SUN BLOCK!!! I am not supposed to go outside without it and I don’t!!!

In 2013 I saw a funny bump on my left arm above my elbow. Went to dermatologist he said oh nothing. I’ll freeze it off. You’ll need to come back for a second treatment. Which I did. That was in the summer by December I saw it growing back but looking very different, After holidays in January 2014 I saw a new dermatologist as mine had retired. She says looks okay. I said I want you to remove it and send it in. Okay! Two days later I was cooking dinner my phone rang and it was the Kaiser doctor. So I stopped everything and she began to tell me they found Melanoma in my arm. She asked me if I new what that was? And I said yes, it’s cancer. I was in shock!’ I had no idea how my life was going to change from that phone call. I went through treatments for one year and kept getting checked for 5 years. My last pet scan and I was so excited.But I wasn’t so lucky. After my test they saw a lump in my arm. He was in shock too. After they removed the lump it was again melanoma cancer a second time. Unbelievable! But now they had much better drugs. But still it was for a year and right in the middle of Covid-19 and I was taking care of my Mother who had dementia and living with us plus twin daughters. My husband and daughters were a lot of help and support. Thank god for them. I got thru it and now it’s been two years cancer free. Please be aware of your body, if you see or feel something not right inform your doctor. It could save your life! Thank you for reading my journey. Bobbi Krishan