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Havingbreast canceris one of those experiences thats impossible to understand unless youve walked through it step by terrible step.
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Youll probably want to bring someone you trust to important doctors appointments.
This can be particularly rough at the start when youre dealing with a flood of new and scary information.
Be prepared to deal with a lot of insurance nonsense.
Clearly, she knows a few things about dealing with this disease.
One of her biggest takeaways is that the insurance situation can be a beast.
(She was eventually able to pay it off herself.)
Some of your loved ones might disappoint you.
Often, family members and your closest friends walk away, Sherry says.
She walked out, and I never saw her again, Sherry says.
For a while, it kind of affected me, she tells SELF.
Even people who venture to be supportive can cause more stress.
As Sherry points out, Its bad enough when people come up and theyre like, Howarrrrreyou?
… and youre constantly reassuring people when you dont know if youre gonna die.
Online breast cancer support systems can be great.
Enter: support groups.
Sherry recommendsCaringBridge, which she says is like Facebook for sick people.
Dont be afraid to ask all the questions about treatment and surgical options.
It was that I was concave and indented on my right side where the lumpectomy had been.
It [looked] like a crater.
Nicole dealt with another surprise when usingtissue expandersto prepare for her reconstructive surgery this upcoming August.
Chemotherapy isnt always as awful as it seems.
Some people have really gruelingchemotherapyexperiences, but others dont.
But since most people only hear terrible chemo stories, it can lead to a fear of this treatment.
Allison C., 28, was diagnosed withinvasive ductal carcinomaafter finding a lump when she was 27.
She also had a chemo experience that was more nuanced than she expected.
Days three through five [after chemo were] horribly bad, she tells SELF.
Find small ways to make treatment more bearable.
8. venture to be your own best advocate.
That try part is important.
when it can be really difficult to do so in practice.
Sari knows this pretty intimately.
This has inadvertently made her feel like doctors are trying to strip away her womanhood, she says.
Many doctors pushed back, she says, but she was steadfast.
She understood what I wanted, and she did a phenomenal job!
If your doctor wont listen and you have the resources, take a stab at find one who will.
Focusing on non-cancer parts of your life might help get you through.
For example, while in treatment, Kristin got her masters degree in forensic psychology.
Ultimately, Kristin says, it helped her to believe she would survive and live to do other things.
Now that shes cancer-free, shes making good on that promise to herself.
I call it my new chapter, she says.
The bad one has closed, and now the new beginning is happening.
