Just Diagnosed with Breast Cancer? What I Wish I Had Known

With breast cancer affecting so many women, approximately 230,000 new diagnoses each year, you’d think there would be a step-by-step playbook on exactly what to do.  While there are many resources to help navigate this challenging time, there are things I wish I had known in the early part of my diagnosis when my head was spinning in every direction.

First, this is one of the scariest and hardest things you will ever go through, but you will get through it. You will break down, mourn, be angry and feel sadness deeper than you thought possible. Let yourself feel it. But then, it’s time to get your head in the game.

Over the next month, you’ll undergo tests, meet new doctors, and start to piece together a treatment plan and a medical team. This time can feel overwhelming, but here’s what’s important: ask questions, take notes, and truly understand your diagnosis and treatment options. Make sure you feel comfortable with your medical team, this is your fight, and they are here to support you. Seeking a second opinion can also be helpful in confirming you have the best care possible.

And then there’s treatment. Whether it is surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of these, it is going to be hard, but maybe not in the way you imagine. It is mentally and physically challenging. There will be tough days when you’re exhausted, nauseous, or just completely over it. But there will also be good days. Days when you feel normal, energetic, and able to enjoy life. It’s not all suffering. There are moments of laughter, love and strength that will surprise you. It’s not as bad as you fear and you will get through it.

You are stronger than you know. Right now, it may not feel that way, but with time, your resilience will amaze you. Lean on the people who love you, it may feel unnatural, especially if you’re used to being the one others lean on, but allow them to be there for you. You are not alone in this. You are powerful, you are capable, and you will find your way forward.

You will not be the same person you were before your diagnosis, I did not see this coming. Cancer changes you in ways you can’t predict. You will mourn the old version of yourself, the one who existed before those life altering words. But over time, you will witness the transformation of a beautiful, new you. A version of yourself who is stronger, wiser, and more deeply connected to what truly matters.

You will start to appreciate every single day in a way that’s hard to comprehend until you’ve walked this road. The little things will mean more. You’ll find clarity about what’s important and what’s not. The things that used to stress you out may suddenly seem unimportant. Your relationships, your happiness, and the simple moments of joy will take on new meaning.

Through it all, you will learn just how strong you are. You will fight, you will endure, and you will come out the other side changed, but still you. And one day, you’ll look back and see just how far you’ve come.