How a Malignant Tumor Changed My Approach to Breast Care [LOH- #208]

I had a breast lump sometimes in May 2015, and I must tell you that before the series of breast test diagnosis results I did were out, I was almost half dead. The thought of having breast cancer clouded my mind, and I kept weeping all day and night. The 3 days of waiting for the test results looked like 3 years in my eyes. I lost weight overnight! I lost appetite to eat food. I will just look at my baby and my husband and shed uncontrolled tears, imagining how I will die soon if eventually the lump turns out to be a cancerous tumor.

I could recall how the India doctor who did the breast scan was saying, "This lump has an oval shape", and many other things he was describing as he was doing the scan coupled with other kinds of breast tests I did. All these were what I was thinking all through the days of waiting for my test results. Prior to such an encounter, I have heard a lot about breast cancer, and I have seen a woman who suffered from this devastating disease and still died even after the whole chemotherapy sessions she did. I thought about my family's financial capabilities, and I nearly died for a sickness I didn't even have. This is how much I fear breast cancer.

Fortunately, the test result showed the tumor I had was malignant and not cancerous. The relief upon hearing that from the doctor was unexplainable. I came back to life again after 3 days of feeling devastated. However, the doctor told me that even if the tumor isn't cancerous, there's a need to still surgically remove it from my breast.

The doctor also seized the opportunity to educate me on breast care and examination and why it's important that we prevent the possible occurrence of these worst diseases in our world today. The first thing she said was that during my monthly flow, I should always do a self-examination and look for anything that looks like a lump in both my armpits and my breasts by lying down in order to have a good position while doing the breast examination myself.

Early detection of the symptoms can make a significant difference to a large extent, and this is where self-breast examination comes into play. To me, it's one of the important self-care practices I practice in order to prevent this challenging disease.

These days, a lot of organizations usually host free breast screenings for women, and whether it's free or not, I do not joke with regular checkups and screenings after my first encounter with the malignant tumor in my breast. Maintaining a healthy body weight, eating healthy, and observing mild exercises are other self-care practices I practice. These are the little steps I have been taking so far in order to stay away from this devastating disease called breast cancer, which has claimed the lives of many in our world today.

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I think of this disease as one of the deadly diseases out there that affect both men and women and spread throughout the cells and body tissues rapidly if not detected on time. This is why I personally think that aggressive awareness for this is vital in order to get everyone, both young and old, informed on how to observe the preventive measures. Another international breast cancer day just happened yesterday, and we can seize this opportunity to join hands together in fighting cancer.

This is my response to the Ladies of Hive Community Contest #208. Kindly join and share your thoughts if you find this prompt interesting.

_{Image 1 is mine while image 2 was taken and edited in canva}