So my surgeon called yesterday. I will need no additional treatment! NO chemo or radiation! I have to have biannual mammograms and an annual chest x-ray for a couple years, but that's IT! I'm so incredibly lucky!
Apparently there's dermatofibrosarcoma and dermatofibrosarcoma
protuberans. It's the second type, DFSP, that is the more rare of the two. That's the one I have. Thanks to that extra little word, the fear that it can possibly develop in my lungs is eliminated. That was the one thing we were originally going to have to watch for, hence the chest x-rays. Since there is no risk of this happening, instead of a lifetime of annual chest x-rays, I'll only have to deal with the 5-minute inconvenience for two years.
I don't feel like I had "real" cancer. I only had to deal with a couple incredibly stressful months, but now it's all over. I didn't lose a boob. I didn't have to suffer through radiation, or worse, chemo. I didn't lose my hair. I didn't have to have poison injected to my body on a regular basis. How can I possibly call myself a cancer survivor? Sure I have a 2-3 inch scar, but that's the only lasting reminder I'll have. My scar is in such a prominent place I'll forever be having to explain it to people. I feel guilty telling them the truth since everyone fears cancer. Cancer is such a scary thing to deal with, but it's not always a death sentence.
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