Christine Hauski

Survivor

Twenty six years and counting!

It has been over 26 six years that I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in my left breast. At the time I was 32 years old and I had a 1 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old boys. They are now going to be 28 and 31 years old. I am very blessed to have 2 grandchildren as well.

My first diagnosis, I was proactive. Something was not right and I felt a lump. The mammogram at the time did not detect the lump. The Ultrasound was my friend. It showed a big mass, however, when doing my self exam it felt like a size of a pea. It was determined to have a biopsy.

The cancer I was diagnosed with was non evasive and a very aggressive type cancer. Hearing the diagnosis was the scariest thing I have ever heard. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. All I knew is that I had to survive this because I had to stay healthy and alive for my two little boys that I so dearly loved. My faith was strong and the power of prayer was powerful during the years of my healing. I made the decision to have my left breast removed and go through reconstructive surgeries. Just recently I was a prime candidate to take the genetic testing to detect if I had a breast cancer gene. Though I was hesitant to go through the testing, it was determined that I carried the PALAB2 gene.

My chances of getting breast cancer in my right breast was over 50%. There is a lot to learn about the genetic testing and 10 years ago I would have said no way I don’t want to know if I have a cancer gene. I grew up and I put my feelings aside and I said yes I need to take the test. Knowledge is power and the more you know about your health the more lives you can save. I have two adult sons and grandchildren that can tell their doctors that my mom/grandma carries the PALAB2 gene. I want my loved ones to be proactive on their health.

Since I found out that my chances of getting breast cancer was very high and even though all these years I have been cancer free, I made the decision to have my right breast removed and to go through reconstructive surgeries again. Though I did not want to go through this, I did not want to take the chance of cancer reoccurring. I put my big girl pants and I moved forward to looking to the future of healthier me. I’m going to be 59 years old in February and there is not one day that goes by that I am not grateful for to be alive. Has it been easy, no but I know there is always someone out there is going through a much harder time. We are survivors, it’s not luck that we are here. We have survived a difficult time in our lives. We are born survivors!