Surviving Breast Cancer: My Personal Experience

A Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Hey Yogis! I typically follow that tagline with an enthusiastic Chair Yoga Class, but today I share something more personal. For the past year, I have been working my way through a breast cancer diagnosis. When I first heard the news, I was caught completely off-guard.

My Doctor found the Lump

September 16th, 2022 marked the one year anniversary that my lump was found. I dislike using the word “anniversary” because I prefer to associate the term “anniversary” with special occasions and this one is not special in any way. My lump was not detected by a mammogram, but instead at the hands of my most excellent doctor. Every year she takes the time to check for lumps.

Are Annual Mammograms Enough?

Like many women, I did not have my annual mammogram in 2020 due to Covid and unfortunately, I was not diligent about doing self breast exams. By the time things settled down with Covid I didn’t get back in for my annual physical until September 2021. Even if I had had my regularly scheduled mammogram in May of 2020, there is no guarantee that my lump would have been found.

For one thing, I have “dense breasts”. It is harder to see tumors on a mammogram because dense breast tissue and tumors both show up white. That makes it hard to identify cancerous growths. Secondly, as my surgeon advised and I later confirmed through my own research, many cancers are fast growing. You can have a clean mammogram Tuesday and by Friday of the same week a tumor can begin to form.

Regular Manual Breast Self-Exams

Waiting an entire year for a mammogram is simply not enough. Regular, manual, self-exams must be part of your breast health protocol. As one fellow breast cancer “thriver” suggests, “squeeze your stuff” and I could not agree more with Fitz Koehler.

Laid-Back Attitude around Breast Cancer

Aside from being caught off-guard by my diagnosis, I was equally floored by the laid-back attitude around breast cancer. The number of people who told me it was not a big deal and there is no need to worry is too long to count. I kept hearing:

• Breast cancer is “curable.”
• “Treatment has come so far and you will be fine.”
• “My aunt had breast cancer 20 years ago and she is still alive.”
• “I believe God chose you for this, so that you could be an example to others.”
• and my all time favorite, “Well, my church teaches that greed causes cancer…”

Okay, so if I have this right, breast cancer is a cakewalk, I will live for another 20 years and God chose me because I was strong or because I was greedy or is it both?

Breast Cancer is a BIG DEAL!

Well, I am here to tell you that breast cancer is a BIG DEAL! Even though treatment options have come far, they are still hard, uncomfortable and DO NOT come with any guarantees of longevity. I am NOT “the chosen one”… that’s Harry Potter. And if in fact greed does cause cancer, then there is a whole lotta greed out there because statistically speaking, “1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.” Source

My Cancer Treatment

This is what my treatment involved:

And it is all topped off with the prospect of several years of drug therapy which comes with many uncomfortable side effects that may reduce the future risk of recurrence. However, as I have said before, there are no guarantees or certainties with cancer treatment. And that, my friends, has been the hardest realization for me to come to terms with:

We all have Cancer Cells

In the beginning, I thought all this toxic treatment would heal me and kick cancer out of my body for good. However, the truth is that we all have circulating cancer cells in our bodies and there is no way to eliminate them, not even chemotherapy can do that. We can only tune our bodies in a way that hopefully makes our “soil” uninhabitable.

Working through Breast Cancer

How did I work through my experience with breast cancer? And please take note that I didn’t call it a “journey”, because I have decided when I am on a journey it’s going to be a path I choose to explore, not endure. I wish I could tell you that it was Viktor Frankl’s writings that inspired me to seek a reason beyond myself to keep my fight to stay alive strong.

Actually, it was more Winston Churchill’s words that motivated me: “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” So I kept going, because at times, it was Hell.

Healing through Yoga

And how did I keep going? As soon as the strong effects of chemo wore off at the end of each week, I was back teaching Chair Yoga on zoom, at least until my next chemo infusion. I learned quickly that sharing my love of yoga was as healing for me as it was for the participants. I am blessed to have a local community who didn’t care if I was sick or bald or had to cancel class at the very last minute.

Laughing Out Loud

During treatment I stopped watching or reading anything that was sad. I was sad enough and I didn’t need to add to it. So every single time when I took to the “cancer couch,” I binge-watched The Big Bang Theory or Friends or Seinfeld or Ted Lasso… Anything that offered me the opportunity to Laugh Out Loud. Laughter heals or, at the very least, it distracts.

“We can either change the complexities of life – an unlikely event, for they are likely to increase – or develop ways that enable us to cope more effectively.” – Dr. Herbert Benson.

The Slow Process of Recovery

I will never be fully cured of cancer, and I am in no way fully healed, but I have started the slow process of recovery. I am far from being the person I was pre-cancer and I am not sure I will ever be her again. My heart is broken. The conventional treatment may be in the rear view mirror, but learning to live with cancer creates new challenges.

The Struggle of Surviving

One final thought I’d like to share is that Cancer is hard on the body, but even harder on the Mind. For me, recovering physically has not been nearly as hard as recovering mentally. Yes, I am currently surviving cancer, but some days surviving is not merely enough. Every day I have to convince myself to keep going and keep moving forward. Here is where Friedrich Nietzsche’s eloquent words guide me, “He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW.” I have many WHYs to live for, but I am struggling to navigate the HOWs.

My Daily Affirmation

I cannot recall exactly where I read this next line, but it has become my daily affirmation:

I have decided to stop trying to Save My Life and instead Start Living It.

I know that I am not alone in this experience.

One thing I have come to fully appreciate is that Pain is Pain; Sadness is Sadness; Loss is Loss; Disappointment is Disappointment.

It all feels the same way on the inside.

Sending you health, awareness and light for a renewed spirit,
Kim OBrien

P.S. Finding Answers in Books

There were several books I read during my cancer treatment to help me find answers and peace. Some of these books were extremely hard for me to read like Chris Wark’s: Chris Beat Cancer. Chris chose to bypass conventional cancer treatment and take the “natural” path, yet within this book I found pivotal information that helped me recognize that some of the side effects I was experiencing from chemo were toxic. This knowledge which I shared with my oncologist resulted in a down-dosing of my chemo regimen. Sadly, my oncologist admitted to me that I was probably “overdosed on chemo”.

I found comfort in Kate Bowler’s books, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I Loved and No Cure for Being Human. I recently tore through Jeffrey Rediger’s book Cured and I took copious notes. That book led me to the one I am currently reading, A Year to Live by Stephen Levine. This last book may sound bleak, but it is turning out to be one of the most important books for my mental health. And, if you believe that we have the power within us to heal, then Jose Silva’s book, You the Healer, just might be something you’ll want to pick up when your mind is open and your spirit is ready to receive.

(20-min) Movement Meditation Tai Chi and Qi Gong Practice with Kim O’Brien

Kim found solace in her Qi Gong and Tai Chi Meditation Movement Practices while going through her Cancer treatments and recovery. Oftentimes, moving more slowly and mindfully helps calm the nervous system in times of stress.

This is the first in Kim’s 7-class video series that offers up gentle, fluid movements from a standing position and is accessible to most practitioners. You will be working on Balance, Strength, Bone Density, Cognition and Reaction Time. Choosing to use a chair to aid in balance or even sit while performing some of the upper body movements and breath work is always an option. Here is the first Warm-up class in the series.

** FREE! Try this Series out with this YouTube Video!

Join us on YogaVista.TV and enjoy the Full Series with Kim! https://watch.yogavista.tv/programs/kim-obrien-movement-meditation-series

Related Wellness Practices

We have made it easy for you to begin a Yoga program focused on helping you cope with stress and other conditions usually associated with Cancer. We have created these Wellness Practices for Cancer Recovery that offer targeted videos to encourage and comfort you. As a result, they will strengthen your physical, mental and emotional well-being!

Related Videos (included in the Wellness Practices above)

Chair Yoga for Cancer Patients: Yoga4Cancer Class with John