The author of a 2008 book "Mourning Has Broken: Reflections on Surviving Cancer," I (Jan Hasak) have battled two bouts with Stage I breast cancer, first in 1996 and then in 2003. In 1996 I was a wife of 43 working full time as a patent attorney and mothering three young sons.
After the first diagnosis my saga began when I received a lumpectomy, followed by three months of chemo (CMF) and then radiation and five years of tamoxifen.
Two years after I completed the tamoxifen a routine mammogram revealed a malignancy in the same breast as before. This time I endured a bilateral mastectomy with six months of two types of chemo. The photo of me with my wig was taken after I was treated with Adriamycin and Cytoxan, a very toxic "cocktail" of chemotherapy agents.
About a year after my radiation treatment I developed lymphedema (swelling) from the removal of lymph nodes from my left arm. The discomforting and unsightly swelling in my arm was almost worse to fathom than the cancer. Requiring time-consuming bandaging, exercise and massage, lymphedema daily reminded me that cancer-related symptoms would not just disappear. How could I ever return to near-normal?
As I focused on the Lord I found tricks to keep the swelling down at night: the Reid sleeve, an alternative to bandaging that had Velcro straps.
My three boys ranged from 3 to 11 years old when I was first diagnosed. Now they are in college or post-college. What a blessing to be alive to witness my youngest, Josh, graduate from high school in May 2009.
Desiring to give back to the community that helped me so much, I retired from my high-stress patent attorney life in May 2008. I'm now a Reach to Recovery volunteer for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and a patient-advocate for the National Lymphedema Network. In addition, I support the annual Relay for Life to benefit the ACS. I maintain a website (www.janhasak.com) and a blog (www.janhasak.com/blog) to inform readers of the latest news on breast cancer and lymphedema.
My faith in Christ sustained me throughout my ordeal. I am so grateful for the prayers and outpouring of compassion I received as I struggled through so much: two separate surgeries, three rounds of chemo, a year of Herceptin, insertion of a neck port for chemo in which my lung was punctured, six weeks of radiation, and a month of clinical treatment of my lymphedema.
Quite a journey, indeed! But I am the stronger for it, appreciating life so much more. I would never go back to my pre-cancer life: the lessons in compassion that cancer taught me were invaluable.