an interview post regarding breastcancer awareness

today i am posting about something very real life regarding the brestcancer awareness project that i am doing here. as a few of you know i have a friend that was diagnosed with breastcancer last year. linda agreed to answer a few questions about her life since the diagnosis for me to post here!
a little background story; last year when she was pregnant with her third son, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breastcancer. the doctors wanted to start her treatment as soon as possible, so they preformed a c-section to get baby E out in safety from the toxics in the cemo.

linda has since then been through so many horrible treatments, sideeffects and "cancer-life" in general. but as before, it seems like this is not slowing her down much either. she stays busy with life and 2 small kids, a new house, pets and ofcourse her big boy too.
lately she has gotten bad news, her breastcancer has spread to her bones and liver and sadly this means that she will probably stay sick until she leaves this earth. what amazes me is that she still can stay positive and stay active as much as she can! she is my hero!

tell us about you and your family.



- My name is Linda, i am 33 years old and I live with my family; my husband and our 4 boys (10 mo, 2 yrs, 6 yrs and 11 yrs). We also have a few dogs and cats.

 when and how did you get your diagnosis?


- Last fall when i was pregnant with our youngest son, Erik, my left breast turned red and became swollen. It itched and hurt a bit. At first the doctors thought that i got an infection and they prescribed some antibiotics. But after I had tried a few different kinds and they still didn´t help, I got a appointment to the hospital.
At the hospital they did a mamogram, ultrasound and a biopsy. After these they found that it was an inflammatory breastcancer that had caused the problems that I had. I got the diagnosis November 16th last year.
is there any breastcancer in your family?


-Yes, my mothers aunt had it a few years ago.


what kind of treatment did you get?


- At first I got 6 rounds of chemotheraphy. Then after that I had an operation and then radiation for 7 weeks. Since my cancer is sensative to hormones, I also eat medicine for that.
how did the diagnosis first effect your life?


- My whole life was turned up side down. From everything being supergood, to this sudden sense of being in the middle of a nightmare! Our everydays were filled with doctors visits, treatments, worrying, lots of waiting and sleepless nights.
Since I was pregnant with my youngest son at the time of the diagnosis, the doctors decided on a planned c-section a few weeks later so that they could start my treatment as soon as possible. Erik was born 8 weeks early and we stayed at the premature department at the hospital for 6 weeks +.
what do you and your family do to cope with your illness and treatments?


- Cancer is a illness that hits the whole family. It is hard for the one with the actual illness, but also very hard for other familymembers too. We try as hard as we can to focus on the positive things and try to do fun stuff together. Unfortunatly I often feel tired and sick. It is very hard for me to see how my family worry and are sad that I can´t be with them for all the events of everyday.

 do your children know? how did you tell them?


- Well, our children are in different ages, but they know that I am sick, They may not know every detail; how the illness have spread, but they know that I have cancer and have to take medicines and have treatments to be able to live as long as possible.
how have you reacted since the diagnosis? are there stages as there are in grief?


- In the beginning everything just felt like a nightmare and it still does sometimes. It can be hard for me to grasp that all the horrible things that is cancer really is about me. Sometimes I think maybe they just were wrong! I don´t think that you can take in everything at once. Just like with grief stages you process it in stages over time. At times it feels very hard. There have been days where I have been crying alot and then it has been hard to see positive things at all.
how does everyday life look for you right now?


- I try to live as normal as possible. But it is hard when I don´t feel good and it hurts. Most days I force myself out of bed to get my medicines. Then I go back to bed and wait until they kick in. Some mornings I am very tired! It is an un-normal tiredness that doesn´t pass.
My days also revolve alot around the children. I leave them at school and daycare, pick them up, feed them and change diapers etc.
tell us about some of the exciting things that are coming up in your life very soon!


- A friend started an online charity where many wonderful people have donated money for me to be able to go away somewhere. As soon as our passports are done and the doctors say it is ok for me to go, we are planning to go somewhere! I hope that I will be able to feel well for that long, so I can manage this!
 
if you have any questions or comments for linda, i am sure she would be happy to answer them! just comment here or send her an email: linda.carlgren@gmail.com


come back tomorrow, there will be fun things happening!