Breast Cancer Awareness month rings a little different to me this year. I’m now what you would call a survivor.

I always thought cancer was what other people got, something detached from my life. To be sure, I was always very careful to get my yearly screenings and everything always worked out. I got called back a few times for cysts or areas that needed another look, but it never turned out to be anything serious.

All that changed on Aug. 7. I had my annual mammogram that morning, then went to lunch with friends. By the time I got home, I had a message from the clinic, saying I needed to call them about scheduling another appointment. The office had closed by that time, so I just made a note to call back Monday.

As I said, this had happened before a couple times to me before, so I didn’t consider it big deal. I chalked it up to just another cyst they wanted to check out. But before I even got out of bed the following Monday, a tech from my doctor’s office called me. I was to go to a hospital, where they had machine with magnifying and biopsy capabilities and was given an appointment for the following day.

I was still thinking, “I’ve been through this before.” Even though my doctors, nurses and techs were moving very fast, I still wasn’t too concerned….READ MORE….