Journal entry by Chelle Barbour —
People often ask if I knew I had breast cancer; the answer is no.
It all started with a dull pain in my back in Jan/Feb, which I presumed was a sports injury. I played golf at Ojai Valley Inn in January. I recall feeling an unusal shortness of breath while walking on that difficult course, and subsequent mid-back pain the day after. I continued to practice my golf swing at the Arroyo Seco driving range. One cold evening, I swung the club wrong and I felt a deeper pain that requred OTC pain pills. By March, COVID saturated the news cycle. Learnnig about COVID symptoms made me nervous. I was afraid that I contracted the disease since I had began to experience shortness of breath.
During the last week of March, I suddenly experienced sharps pains in my left breast and immediately have a mammogram. The results are abnormal a few days before my employer cancels our insurance (COVID termination) Fast forward, i secure new health insurance, get caught up an administrative snag over a network provider issue. Before i can make an appt to reschedule a biopsy w USC Breast Imaging Lab, the pain in my back had reached an acute stage. I went to the ER. Twelve hours later after multiple xrsys and CT scans, i learn that i had a L8 spine fracture from metastatic breast cancer. After four days of further tests, scans, and a breast and veterbral biopsy, i learned that i have mets in my lungs, kidneys, bones and breast. This week, i start 5-10 radiation sessions, which should kill the cancer cells in my vetebrae. I have infusion therapy indefinitely and chemo for six months on and off indefinitely. It's a lot to grasp so much info is thrown at you that you must absorb, lifestyle changes as well. I have suffered greatly over the last three months and am excited about radiation. It means less, ir no more back pain. I was totally asymptomatic and did not know i had breast cancer. A week prior, i had gotten a clean bill of health from my primary care doc. Trust that i will make it to the other side of this!
It all started with a dull pain in my back in Jan/Feb, which I presumed was a sports injury. I played golf at Ojai Valley Inn in January. I recall feeling an unusal shortness of breath while walking on that difficult course, and subsequent mid-back pain the day after. I continued to practice my golf swing at the Arroyo Seco driving range. One cold evening, I swung the club wrong and I felt a deeper pain that requred OTC pain pills. By March, COVID saturated the news cycle. Learnnig about COVID symptoms made me nervous. I was afraid that I contracted the disease since I had began to experience shortness of breath.
During the last week of March, I suddenly experienced sharps pains in my left breast and immediately have a mammogram. The results are abnormal a few days before my employer cancels our insurance (COVID termination) Fast forward, i secure new health insurance, get caught up an administrative snag over a network provider issue. Before i can make an appt to reschedule a biopsy w USC Breast Imaging Lab, the pain in my back had reached an acute stage. I went to the ER. Twelve hours later after multiple xrsys and CT scans, i learn that i had a L8 spine fracture from metastatic breast cancer. After four days of further tests, scans, and a breast and veterbral biopsy, i learned that i have mets in my lungs, kidneys, bones and breast. This week, i start 5-10 radiation sessions, which should kill the cancer cells in my vetebrae. I have infusion therapy indefinitely and chemo for six months on and off indefinitely. It's a lot to grasp so much info is thrown at you that you must absorb, lifestyle changes as well. I have suffered greatly over the last three months and am excited about radiation. It means less, ir no more back pain. I was totally asymptomatic and did not know i had breast cancer. A week prior, i had gotten a clean bill of health from my primary care doc. Trust that i will make it to the other side of this!
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