Cindy Sweeting, 46, Fort Lauderdale
Reached out to trusted friends
The biopsy of the lump in my breast came back negative, but I was still unsettled. My old college friend from Georgetown, Suzanne Grimes in New York, heard my relief and unease through the telephone. Suzie had had her own brush with breast cancer six years before. In her cool, thoughtful way, she encouraged me to follow my instincts. I went back for a second biopsy, which came back positive.
When you first find out you have cancer, it's overwhelming. You have a general idea of the journey but have never seen it with your own eyes. The smart thing to do is to seek out one or two trusted people who have navigated that place before. Suzie handled things the way I like to: Get the information; find the right doctors; make an informed decision, and move on. She has a demanding job like mine, and she showed me how she worked through it. I also sought out Jane Pfeiffer, a close friend of my late mother. Jane had just lost her husband to cancer and was a steady guide during my mother's illness. She helped me find the right medical team in my community.
My doctors were great, and my dad, my brothers, my kids, gave me all the love and tenderness anyone could want. But Suzie and Jane were experienced guides. I could let my hair down with them, even when it was temporarily gone.
This story appears in the November 8, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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