By "Pegasus"

This is not a story about me having breast cancer [1] but about my oldest and best friend Sharon. We have known each other since first grade -- 52 years! We are like sisters, and when she found out she had breast cancer [1] I was devastated and scared that I might lose my best friend.

Sharon and her husband came to our house to visit for the Memorial Day weekend and asked me what I thought about a lump she had just found in her breast that morning while taking a shower. I told her what I knew -- which wasn't much -- that most breast lumps are benign. We kind of put it out of our minds and enjoyed the holiday weekend together.

She called her doctor first thing Tuesday morning and got in to see him right away. He told her he suspected cancer [1]. Within two weeks she had had surgery with a radical mastectomy and was given a 40 percent chance of living five years. That day was awful, unbelievable. How could something go so wrong so quickly?

The doctors offered Sharon entrance into a special study where some women would get the regular dose of chemotherapy and some would receive a superdose. They would not know until the therapy was finished which they had received. Sharon agreed to join the therapy. It was not an easy time for her; she was scared and the chemotherapy was difficult, to put it mildly. I tried to be there for her as much as I could, which consisted of mostly phone calls, as we live 80 miles apart. We prayed a lot, too. That is such an important part of any therapy.

Sharon finally reached the end of treatment and found out she was in the group that received the superdose of chemotherapy. She came through it pretty well. Of course, she lost all her hair [2], but she felt that she had done all she could do.

The next weeks and months were difficult. There were numerous tests for Sharon to go through to make sure there was no more cancer [1] anywhere in her body. And of course there were the nights, long nights of not being able to sleep [3], thinking, thinking, thinking. She became a volunteer at the cancer [1] center at St. Joseph's hospital in Orange, helping others cope with cancer [1]. I think this was so courageous of her, for it did keep her recent bout with cancer [1] on her mind as she strove to help others deal with their disease. Many of these patients were terminal.

The best part of this whole story is that this all happened 15 years ago and my oldest and best friend Sharon is still very much alive and we are still having fun together, going on trips together, shopping together and just enjoying life. Life is sweet, especially when you think that it could end prematurely. I thank God every day that I still have my best friend.

Sharon had mammograms every year; she did breast self-exams. I know that if it were not for that fact, she would not be here today enjoying life. This is the most important lesson of all. We must take charge of our lives and our health [4]. If we don't, no one else will.

"Pegasus" is a 58-year-old homemaker living in California.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent medical [5] advice or the views of ThirdAge Media.

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One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer [1] in her lifetime. The ThirdAge We Care Campaign [6] tells how you can help make a difference.