Monique Bass, 53, has always been proactive about her health. A single mother of twins and grandmother of four, she began having annual mammograms at age 40. But it was a self-examination at age 47 while lying in bed one night that changed everything. I found a lump that didn’t feel right.
What followed was three biopsies of tumor tissue over three years, each of which was benign. The doctors wanted to continue monitoring. The bass was pushed back. The tumor was growing, and she knew her body well enough to know something was wrong. She insisted that the mass be removed (a procedure called a lumpectomy) and tested. Diagnosis: Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma that was aggressive enough to require immediate chemotherapy.
Bass received the call while sitting at the car wash. “I felt like I was in The twilight zone“I never thought I’d hear ‘You have cancer’ in a million years,” she says. The timing made everything more difficult. It was 2020, the height of the pandemic, so she navigated much of her journey alone. Adding “another emotional layer,” she was also going through a divorce. Treatment included four rounds of doxorubicin, four rounds of paclitaxel, and 21 radiation treatments. Losing her hair was the hardest. “The upside is that they grew back more beautiful after the treatment,” Bass says.
In all of this, her faith was based on her. “I’m not a deeply religious person, but I believe in God, and I know it was in His hands,” Bass says. On the other hand, treatment was established What’s behind the bra?a New Jersey non-profit organization that distributes comfort care packages to breast cancer patients throughout the year, hosts A Weekly podcast of the same name every Sunday at 7:30 PM ET.
2. “I surrounded myself with love and laughter.”
Jacqueline Bell, 64, comes from a family with a long history of cancer, including her mother It was breast cancer. That’s why it wasn’t a huge surprise when, at age 40, she discovered a lump during a breast self-exam. Although the ultrasound and mammogram showed clarity, it was clear that something wasn’t right, so Bill got a biopsy.
When the radiologist called in her result — stage 1 breast cancer, which means the cancer had not spread beyond where the abnormal cells developed — she could hear a lot of background noise. He said, “I’m in New York trying to hail a cab, but you have breast cancer. You need to find a breast surgeon.” Despite the candor, Bell says she couldn’t help but find humor in the situation, something she carried with her through treatment.
