Bossom Buddies
Bosom Buddies
Maybe because I am now retired, getting older, and more and more people I know are being diagnosed with it, my fear of cancer has grown in recent years.
Then I hear about my friends from the local Golf Club. A same-sex common-law couple, both of them being diagnosed with breast cancer on the same day. Just before the pandemic hit to boot.
Teresa and Georgie have been together for 34 years. They bought their rural property on a lake 27 years ago, which became their full-time home when they retired 5 years ago.
Georgie was the head nurse at the emergency department of a large urban hospital for 20 years. A therapist for 36 years, Teresa led the physiotherapy department of the same hospital.
In January of 2020, they went for a routine mammogram at the local mobile unit. Incredible as it was, their doctor called, shortly thereafter, to say both of their tests came back positive.
Further tests at a hospital confirmed they both had breast cancer, though of a different kind. George’s was considered less severe. Teresa’s was more invasive. It felt surreal to them at first. Then they got on with it.
They could have had their cancer removing surgeries on the same day, but didn’t. “One of us had to drive us home,” joked Teresa. They had them a week apart. The hospital staff nicknamed them “bosom buddies.”
Radiation treatments followed, which they received together at another regional hospital. They moved into the city during the weekdays and drove home on weekends for four and a half weeks.
Georgie admits to being scared when she first heard the word “cancer” but tried to stay positive. “Knowing that we were both fine after the radiation boosted us,” she says.
The only time Theresa was scared and prayed to God was when waiting for the result of the stereognosis. She used to chair the Breast Cancer Pathway at her hospital. She knows the treatment challenges depend on where the disease is located. The test showed no cancer in the lymph nodes.
Going through the ordeal during the pandemic had its upside. Georgie received radiation treatment she probably would not have during the regular “higher demand” times.
A year later, they both received a clean bill of health, and Teresa is still on top of the ladies leader board at our Golf Club. Georgie started weed-wacking while Teresa and I were talking on the phone. They are always on the go.
The advice they have for all women is to get mammograms done regularly. After that, to stay positive. I am happy to take both of their advice to heart.
Revised from Boomer in the Woods column
