Lifestyle
Survival, hope
By Tiffany GreenJudy Adamson was living life to the fullest. She had a wonderful family, a good job and enjoyed the small things, when one Saturday she felt something.
“I had gotten out of the shower and was putting on lotion when I felt something,” she said.
In her mind, she knew it was breast cancer.
She found the lump on a Saturday and on Monday morning she was at the doctors office.
“On Monday I saw my surgeon and on Tuesday I had a biopsy,” Judy said. “The moment they told us was when they did the biopsy and it is all a blur.”
Judy was officially diagnosed with stage two poorly differentiated invasive mammary carcinoma cancer on October 16.
“It was like total shock,” she said. “I ad no family history of breast cancer.”
Judy’s daughter and husband joined her at the doctor’s office for the news.
“I was ok until I saw my daughter and she just broke down,” she said.
On November 13, Adamson had a radical mastectomy where both breast were removed.
“I wanted them to take both breast if it came back bad,” she said.
Judy went through eight chemotherapy treatments. She said the treatments were tough on her body.
“The thing that bothered me the most was weight gain,” she said. “I gained 40 pounds.”
One of the hardest things for her was losing her long, blonde locks.
“I lost my hair after about the third treatment,” she said. “It came out in handfuls and one of my best friends came over and shaved my head.”
Before the cancer, she kept her hair long, but now that it’s finally growing back, she will probably keep it short.
“That was one of the most upsetting,” she said.
During her hair loss, she kept a wig or hat on.
“Now that it is growing back, I don’t wear my wig. It is too hot,” she smiled.
During the ordeal, Judy remained strong for her family.
“I stayed strong, but there were moments when I broke down. I always had a good attitude and never felt sorry for myself.
While going through her treatments, she did not go back to work, but remembers how special her supervisors were to her.
“I found out who my true friends were,” she said. “I had two supervisors at Topre that did whatever they had to to help me. I have thanked them so many times.”
Judy now wants to get the word out to all to do self breast exams.
“To be honest, I didn’t always check myself, but I want to tell people to check themselves,” she said. “Go get a mammogram. Even if you don’t have a family history, you can get it.”
Judy has been home since her surgery and chemotherapy.
“I can’t go back to my job because of the type of work it is,” she said. “After chemo, you are a different person. I have to take care of myself now.”
Judy is now involved with Relay for Life and attending this year for the first time as a survivor.
“I did the survivor walk and saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time,” she said. “We just broke down and hugged.”
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