Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/85232
I to the hospital. The operation was going to take seven hours; my lattisimus dorsi muscle from my back would be wound under my arm to create a new breast, a small implant would be inserted and this was all to be done through my nipple area. Waking from the anaesthetic in recovery, I could feel my brain sending me a message, "This is not a good sign!" My inner voice was telling me, "You have nothing to worry about. Breast cancer happens to other people not you!" I reached over to feel my breast and arm. No bandages, fantastic I thought, they haven't done it! Wrong, the pain hit me like nothing I had experienced before. I remember being wheeled to my room and vaguely hearing Laura crying and someone giving her a cuddle. The pain was excruciating, all bravado was kicked out the window and I wondered what hell I had done! The next few days were a blur but I finally plucked up the courage to look at my new breast. Lou Hayes should have been a sculptor, what a fabulous job! I highly recommend having the operation; yes it's painful but it's like having a baby, you forget and the result is gorgeous! Chemo was next. My appointment with Ian Kennedy was on a Tuesday and he suggested I start chemo the following Friday. I really appreciated Ian's honest consultation and I left knowing the side effects, schedule of treatment and a plan if things were not feeling right. The chemo started just before Christmas, what a horrendous experience; I felt sick, my body ached, my stomach felt like it had battery acid poured into it and my courageousness regarding my hair falling out soon turned to horror! My friend Robyn who had a wig business, told me it would be traumatic losing my hair and she was right. She was taking a trip to the South Island and left two wigs for me in case my hair fell out while she was away. Lucky she did. Isabel and I were now matching with our bald heads; the hard thing for her was mine would grow back and hers probably wouldn't. I am pleased to say I am finally through all my treatment. Radiotherapy with the ever positive Hermann Van Der Vyver was like taking a wee sleep every day for 15 minutes. No side effects and a relatively easy way to finish my treatment. After much coaxing from my friend Shorty, I enrolled at the Mangakotukutuku Campus of the Te Wananga o Aoteroa to do my certificate in Social Services. It's a full time course and is truly the best thing I have done for myself. Learning the principals of Nga Takepu and Te Whare Tapa Wha have helped heal the breast cancer wounds and bring my children's learning to a new level. I will go on to do a Bachelor of applied Social Science next year. Tristyn Gretton Talk about your fears. Talking it out, crying it out, and facing the reality of it... it's really cleansing. Jo. Breast Cancer Fighter