When I think about being a breast cancer survivor, it is bittersweet because so many have not been as blessed as I have been. I lost my husband in 2003 to cancer, thus writing my story brings back many hard memories.

My survival story with breast cancer is like sharing my faith in God, as the two stories can’t be separated. It all began with a letter from Women’s Health and Imaging, stating my mammogram was clear but because of my family history (my mother had breast cancer) they felt I should have an MRI. I had the MRI, and it came back with suspicious shadows. I then had a sonogram/biopsy, which came back inconclusive. I could have waited six months to see what happened, which is not my nature, or another MRI/biopsy, which I did.

On March 18, 2009, I received the call I had breast cancer and my life as I knew it changed forever. When I heard this it was like, “OK, now I finally know, and let’s get started doing something about it.”

All this time I had family and friends praying for me because I knew I could not do this on my own. This all was especially hard when I had to tell my three girls this “C” word had touched our family again. But, together, we charged forward.

A good friend gave me names to call as far as surgeons and plastic surgeons, and I was on my way to an adventure filled with the unknown. On April 16, I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction, which I am now in the middle of. I am so very blessed to be a part of all the wonderful medical technology women now have access to. I am also so grateful I did not have to go through chemo, radiation or even take a pill because my cancer was diagnosed so early.

This has been a hard adventure, especially at night when I lay alone in bed wishing I had my husband to hold me and say to me, “Honey, its all right, I love you, and your breasts do not define who you are.” But, life goes on, and you move forward.

There have been many personal struggles the Lord and I work on continuously. When I share with friends how things are going in my life, I joke about my “new girls” and me. I know a positive attitude and finding joy in living is most important. I also now the seriousness of all of this.

With this I will close my story, knowing that being proactive in having annual checkups is so very essential. If there is a family history perhaps instead of having a mammogram, visit with your doctor about having an MRI. Certainly all this has made some major changes in my life, but the way God has blessed me far outweighs all the “other stuff.” I know without a doubt God is good and life is good, and I give Him all the praise, honor, glory and thanks.

Ruth Dobbs, Enid