Check 'em out

My parents are very private people, so I asked for my mum’s permission before I wrote this post, which she kindly gave. Even so, I haven’t gone into too much detail.

There aren’t many people whose lives haven’t been affected by cancer, whether it’s through personal experience, or through knowing someone who’s had it.

Almost five years ago my mum found a lump in one of her breasts, did the right thing and made an appointment with her GP, who referred her onto the hospital, where she had various tests.

There are some events in life that can be recalled as though they happened yesterday. I distinctly remember standing next to a window upstairs, looking out across the field and talking to my mum on the phone that summer’s day; the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

On hearing my mum say the words, “I’ve got cancer,” I couldn’t understand why the sky didn’t instantly darken. I wondered why it wasn’t thundering and why there weren’t bolts of lightning hitting the field, one after the other, because that’s what was happening in my head. Why was the sky still blue? How could the sun still be shining?

We hear the word ‘cancer’ and automatically assume it’s a death sentence - that one word strikes such a chord of fear.

She underwent surgery and afterwards had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Five years on, she is a survivor.

What she went through, and because it was so close to home, was a stark reminder that we should be checking ourselves for lumps. A few weeks ago Youngest Daughter found a lump, so an appointment was made with our GP. Given her age, it was unlikely to be anything sinister, but one certain thing about life is that there are no certainties.

We’ve spent the last few weeks trying not to worry about it too much, and on Wednesday morning she had an appointment at the breast clinic at our local hospital. After having an ultrasound scan, thankfully those fears lurking in our minds were unfounded.

Breasts, boobs, hooters, call them what you want, they come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter what age you are…

…Check ’em out.