By Maria Wilson
President The Pink Ladies & Panthers
My mammogram was on Friday 12th February 2010. it showed there were two small tumours in my left breast, A week after the mammogram I received a phone call to return to Torrevieja hospital on Monday 22nd February, I thought for another mammogram as they couldn´t have got a very good image and needed to do it again. Unfortunately, I soon realised it wasn’t for another mammogram but for a biopsy as the mammogram showed the two lumps, one 1cm and the other 1.25 cm so they performed the biopsy, not very pleasant I can tell you. I was given an appointment to see the consultant for the results on Tuesday 13th April, as this was almost two months away I didn´t think there was much to worry about. BUT!!
Whilst back in the UK to attend a family wedding I received a phone call from Torrevieja hospital on Sunday 7th March informing me that I was to have an MRI scan the next day, this was obviously not possible as we were not returning to Spain till the next day so another appointment was made for Wednesday10th March for the scan. It was after this phone call that the alarm bells started to ring and there was something very serious going on here for the hospital to call on a Sunday afternoon for an immediate MRI scan.
The appointment with the consultant was brought forward to Tuesday 23rd March, this is when I was told I had breast cancer and that both lumps were malignant and the best course of action would be a full mastectomy of my left breast, this came as a complete shock as there was no history of breast cancer in my family.
We were informed that following the surgery I would need a course of chemotherapy and then 30 sessions of radiotherapy to be carried out in at a private clinic in Benidorm, that meant travelling to Benidorm every day Mon to Fri for 6 weeks, this was very tiring having to meet the transport at Torrevieja hospital at 8.30 every day and not getting back sometimes until mid-afternoon. The mastectomy was booked in for Tuesday 23rd April , I was given this devastating news in what seemed a very “ matter of fact way”, we were in complete shock and couldn´t really focus on what we were being told, we left the consultant in a complete daze trying to come to terms with it all. But, It is what it is and we will HAVE to deal with it.
