It has been five years since Sandy Craig of Wiscasset was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now a survivor, she shares her story and offers of hope and encouragement to others, just as October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins.
In January 2008, at age 46, just before her first mammogram, Craig noticed some physical changes in her breast that made her very nervous. Doctors soon confirmed her worst fear and she was diagnosed with Stage 2-3 invasive ductal carcinoma.
According to statistics at http://www.breastcancer.org, about 80 per cent of all breast cancers are of this type. This cancer begins in the milk ducts and then spreads to surrounding breast tissues.
“I was shocked,” she said. “Breast cancer doesn’t run in my family.”
Craig’s main concern was for her children. The mother of four children, she still had two young ones at home. Matt was 11 and Haylee was 9 at the time of her diagnosis. She didn’t want her own fear to trickle down to them. Sandy and her husband Glen Craig wanted to tell the kids in a way they would understand.
“We simply came home, sat them down and told them Mom has cancer,” Glen said.
“I really didn’t understand, but I remember being sad. They cried, so I cried,” Haylee Craig said.
Glen recalled Haylee telling them that she wanted to read the books they were reading about breast cancer, not little kids’ books.
“I remember a bunch of bandanas,” Matt Craig said. “I didn’t know how to comprehend it.”
Although the doctors were optimistic about her prognosis, the Craigs recognized immediately that they had challenges ahead of them and were determined to take one day at a time.
“I had those thoughts of losing my spouse and the kids losing their mother,” Glen said.
Despite of the fear and anxiety the family tried to live as normally as possible over the many months of treatments which included chemotherapy, a complete mastectomy and post op radiation. Craig was always seen around the schools being involved in her children’s activities.
“I don’t remember her missing anything,” Matt said.
Just two months after her surgery, the family took a vacation they had planned prior to her getting ill. The original plan was to go to Italy, but they opted for Disney World instead.
“It wasn’t really a vacation for me, but we did it to keep some normalcy,” Sandy said. She remembers walking around the parks in the morning and getting so tired she looked forward to Matt and Haylee saying they wanted to go back to the hotel where she could just lay by the pool and watch them swim.
“The surgery was the easiest part,” Sandy said.
Because the two masses were very large and close to her chest wall, eight weeks of chemotherapy was required to shrink the masses prior to having the mastectomy.
“The chemo created a lot of fatigue, low energy and nausea,” Sandy said. She admits that even after five years she still experiences fatigue.
“I couldn’t do everything I wanted to. There were days I had to modify my plans, based on my emotions. I had to learn to let the unimportant things, like housework, go,” she said.
Some days she had to force herself through. Church and prayer often helped her cope. “On bad days, I talked myself through it,” Sandy said.
“You can’t wallow in self-pity,” said Glen. “You have to suck it up like she did. She is a great woman.”
Sandy now follows up with her doctor every six months. She said she is eating healthier; choosing more fruits and vegetables and less processed food because, she said, studies show a healthy diet can help reduce the risk of cancer. She has a yearly mammogram. “This is so important,” she said.
The Craigs’ best advice to others facing this challenge, “Don’t ever give up.”
Glen says the breast cancer survival rates are getting higher and higher with the advancement in technology. “If you get diagnosed with breast cancer, don’t walk to treatment; run,” he said.
