By Gloria

Exactly a year ago – August 31, 2020; I was given a diagnosis of Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer....
The Diagnosis
This diagnosis rocked my Spirit to the core. My partner, who had come with me to my dermatologist appointment to get my stitches removed from my surgical biopsy, gently held me in the parking lot and we both cried. My General Practitioner (GP) called me within 15 minutes of my receiving this news. She immediately booked an appointment for the next day to get my pap smear test done, referral to get another mammogram done (even though I had a mammogram approximately a year earlier that showed nothing), and a referral to a surgeon.
Lump in Arm
I had found this pinhead lump in my underarm (which I have now come to understand is the tail end of the breast) back in 2018, and I had shown it to my GP who sent me to get an ultrasound done. We both thought it was a cyst and so we agreed to monitor it after the ultrasound came back clear. The following year my mammogram, showed nothing either.
The Start
2019 was a year of many challenges – it started with a swollen right knee that was initially diagnosed as a Baker’s Cyst. Being unable to walk on it for a couple months allowed me to research the causes of a Baker’s Cyst and so I chose to change my diet and eliminate the foods that causes inflammation.
In July 2019, my 94 year old Dad who I looked after for 12 years after he suffered a stroke passed. Around the same time my mammogram was due. It showed nothing.
In August 2019, I found out I had a full macular hole in my right eye. I underwent a vitrectomy surgery to repair my macular hole and replace the lens in that eye on October 1, 2019. Anyone who has been through this surgery knows that you have to lie face down for a week 24 hours a day, if possible. It was great news when I found out I could read again in that eye – the tears of release and gratitude flowed.

Fast forward, toward the end of February 2020, I started with headaches around the temple of my operated eye. A call to my ophthalmologist had me go to my optometrist to c