from The Doctors website:
Thriving Through the Fight against Breast Cancer
How do you find strength in times of struggle? Anise, 33, is a mother of three and is battling stage-three breast cancer. Currently undergoing chemotherapy, healing from one mastectomy and facing the removal of her remaining breast, Anise has chosen to speak out about her illness through her personal blog, and by sharing her story on The Doctors.
“I never thought I would have cancer. That never crossed my mind,” Anise says.
Anise sits down with health and wellness expert Jillian Michaels to share her fears, insecurities and hopes for the future.
“I’m not the same person right now. When I look in the mirror it doesn’t quite look like me,” Anise says. “And it’s not just the [post-operative] breast and the hair loss. I just don’t feel as comfortable in my own skin."
“The hardest part of everything is the emotional toll [cancer has taken] on me and my family,” she adds. “I want to be here for my girls. I’ve done a lot of things [in life] and I’ve been happy, but the thought of leaving my kids having to live the rest of their lives without their mom is the hardest part of having cancer.”
“I want to tell you how brave you are to come on the show today, because you’re creating awareness for so many women out there,” Jillian says. “For that, I have to commend you and say thank you.”
Anise opens up about losing one of her breasts to a mastectomy. “You no longer feel sexy or attractive,” she says. “You feel like you’ve been mutilated, and somebody literally chopped off your breast. … I never imagined that that would happen to me.”
Plastic surgeon Dr. Drew Ordon explains that a mastectomy involves removing all the breast tissue and typically some of the lymph nodes, which are tested and evaluated for the best possible treatment plan. Dr. Ordon then outlines Anise’s options for breast reconstruction.
Anise shares her biggest piece of advice for women and their health. “If you feel something [in your breast], get it checked out,” she says. “It’s not a death sentence. Just because they tell you that you have breast cancer, [it] doesn’t mean you’re going to die. You’re just going to have to change the way you live a little bit.”
watch my segment on The Doctors
3 comments:
Your strength is incredibly inspiring Anise. I am so glad that you had the opportunity to share your story on such a large scale. xoxo
p.s.
Have you heard of the book, The Middle Place?
It is a memoir of a woman who battled breast cancer- at the same time as her father.
It's been on my Amazon wishlist for a while, but I didn't know what it was truly about until I just read a blog post about it. Just thought I'd share...
Anise- this is from a male friend of mine with whom I had shared your story. He emailed me after he saw your segment.
"Wow! Unfortunate, but she is out there trying and making the best out of a horrible situation. Bringing about awareness and dealing with the issue head on is critical to early detection...her ability to get out there and tell her story, will drive early testing awareness about the issue specifically in the Latino community which has a distrust of Dr's. Did you know that Mexico/Mexicans are the most self medicated society in the world? Stems from poor services and distrust of government. What she is doing will hopefully reduce the stigma attached to such sensitive issues that need early detection...
Thought I'd share it with you. I have a couple "pink" things I got for you at the KP store. I will mail or drop off to you soon. XO- Lulu
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