Gratitude to our community--back through the ages

CLC

Frequently, I have been grateful to the women and men on bco for sharing their experience and support to those of us who have followed in their footsteps.  For taking the time to respond, to lay bare their own fears and concerns.

Tonight, prompted by a post about Nabby Adams' harrowing mastectomy story (of which I had never heard before), I googled her name with the word mastectomy and I read the account of her battle with breast cancer.  Then, I found the letter by Fanny Burney to her sister Esther recounting her mastectomy.

I want to extend my gratitude to them, and the many many women who faced breast cancer through the ages.  Fanny's letter is very detailed.  It took a great deal of her strength to recount her horrific experience.  And her account is not for naught.  She was, in my mind, one of the pioneers in letting her experience help others...in paying it forward, as it were.  She is one of our community.

The account is not for the weak at heart.  I have personally avoided any video of a mastectomy and have vowed that I will not watch one, for fear that I may some day need a mastectomy on the other side.  Fanny's account is quite detailed, but it is not video.  At any rate, others may not have heard of her, and I want to share her name out.  If you are up to reading an account of a mastectomy without anesthesia...you can read her letter to her sister at

http://newjacksonianblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/breast-cancer-in-1811-fanny-burneys.html

CLC

I am going to be uncooth and bump my own thread.  I think it might have just been overlooked because of the time of day I posted...hmmmm

eric95us

Not only can I not imagine that..I do not even want to try.....

-------------

In lurking in other forums, I saw a comment about my post.  I guess I was misunderstood.

At the risk of putting my foot farther into my mouth....

Maybe my comment should have read "I can't imagine going through major surgery like that with no pain relief of any kind....and it's something I would just as soon not try to imagine."    

After reading the article/letter my first reaction was profound sadness.

Then came anger that my wife has breast cancer and my 21 year old fiancee was taken by ovarian cancer.  Then, finally, I felt some small relief that at least some (not enough) progress has been made.  I measure that progress by comparing how that mastectomy was done "back then", by how my fiancee was treated 28 years ago and how my wife is now being treated.  Just in 28 years, the differences in attitudes by the doctors in matters of pain control and side effect management is, to me, astonishing.  

Eric

BoobsinaBox

That is such a powerful account. After reading the surgery report of my bilateral mastectomy, I was horrified. I really can't imagine going through it without anesthesia. The last breast surgeon I saw informed me that mastectomies were done in Egypt long ago, without anesthetic and with a sort of guillotine device. He said most women died from blood loss and infection. And he seemed to believe that would make me feel better. That was the second BS I fired. Thanks for sharing this!



Dawn