Sandra Gahlinger

(I'm Southern...so feel free to read this with a slight drawl.)

In the beginning...

I had my first mammo when I was about 20. (Shocking, I know...especially if you understand that many docs won't do such a thing as the tissue is hard to read at younger ages.) Luckily, I had a doctor whose motto is, "Better safe than sorry." It turned out to be nothing.

My next mammo came when I was 35. My doctor had ordered it because my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

I didn't get off so clean with that one. I went in for more mammos...which were still unclear, which meant a biopsy.

I was terrified.

I had just gotten engaged to a great guy and thought I was going to die given family history. I was gripped with fear. (Three aunts had been diagnosed young and hadn't survived. Their disease was advanced when it was caught.)

I had the biopsy and was good for one year. Then in 2006, I had to go through the series of mammos again.

I got a call that said everything was okay, that all was benign. I did a happy dance...which lasted a week. That's when I got the "Well, we're not so sure about that" call...the one where they told me I needed to have more taken out.

This was the beginning of what I call the "Titty Twilight Zone".

I had a lumpectomy on May 2, 2007. I was diagnosed on May 8 and had a mastectomy with reconstruction on July 19, 2007. (My new boobs look fantastic, by the way! I upgraded the old models.)

The last year has been unusual to say the least and very trying at times, but there have been things to laugh about...and there are always things to be grateful for.