The Descending Dark Shadow

She woke up with a dark shadow hovering over her bed. It slowly started descending down into her body. She was paralyzed with fear. She broke out into a sweat and ran to the bathroom to splash her face with cold water. She was suddenly overcome with dizziness and fell to the floor. She thought she felt it moving around inside of her. She crawled back into her bed and curled up into a fetal position. Then cried herself to sleep.

She woke up the next morning to prepare for the day. She figured the experience she had was just a bad dream. She jumped into the shower and began to wash her body. When she began to wash her breasts, she noticed a bloody discharge coming from her right nipple. She was terrified. She was now certain that what she experienced was real and the dark shadow is indeed in her body. She wanted to take a closer look at her breast. She began to examine herself. Her hands were shaking. She felt a lump. She was really certain that it resided in her breast.

She immediately got dressed and went to the emergency room. She was frantic. She told the woman at the admissions desk that she felt something inside of her breast. They took her in the examination room and she showed the nurse her right breast. The nurse ran out and brought a doctor back with her. The doctor examined her and told her that he needed to take an x-ray immediately. She said, "What is happening to me?" The doctor replied, "I am not sure but you have a large tumor inside of your breast and we have to take a further look at the large mass. I can't quite make a diagnosis as of yet. Please be patient, we will have an answer for you shortly." She begged and pleaded with the doctor to take this thing out of her. She cried, "I have an alien presence in my body and you need to remove it!" The nurse told her to come with her and she lead her to a room with a bed. She sat down. She was shaking so much that her teeth were shattering.

They took her down to the x-ray room so they could give her a mammogram. The technician told her to be patient. Once the x-rays are complete, the radiologist will give the doctor an update and then the doctor will discuss the results with her. She started to scream, "Can't you see! There is something inside of me. You have to get it out! Please help me!" She was so hysterical that she started hitting herself. She was becoming a danger to herself. The nurses ran in and gave her a sedative to calm her down. They took her back to her room.

The doctor came in with a serious look on his face. He said, "You are right. You do have something in your breast. It is a tumor that is the size of a grapefruit. We have to go in and do a biopsy because I am certain that it is cancer." She started to yell, "No! This is not right! How could this be?

I wrote this hub in hopes to send a message about self examinations and mammograms. Breast cancer is a dark shadow that enters our bodies unwelcomely. Sometimes, we don't listen to our bodies when it tells us that something is wrong. If you have any of the symptoms listed below. Please go to a doctor immediately.

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
• A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
• A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast.
• A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.
• A change in the feel or appearance of the skin on the breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed).
• Redness of the skin on the breast or nipple.
• An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
• A marble-like hardened area under the skin.

We watch television and hear different things about cancer but don't think about it until it hits home. Someone very close to me has breast cancer and had all of these symptoms. She waited a long time before she went to the doctor and now the cancer has spread to other parts of her body. Chemo is no longer working for her. But the fight is not over!

God bless you and thank you for taking the time to read my hub.