Written early Sunday am, Sept 13, 2015
By Sue Van Hook, DCIS thriver

I was born with two of them
Felt the breast buds emerge
Bound them with soft trainers
Until bra less set them free.

Rarely thought of them as precious
Glad for their smallness
Less hassle in the braless days
Could wear anything, go anywhere

The world’s smallest areolas
From all that I had gleaned
No, not my best feature
Did I have one best?

Then one day someone noticed
Beneath my sleeveless T
He said “Your breasts are beautiful”
Then I noticed and agreed.

Loved them even more
As they filled with nourishment
For 3 lovely daughters
Who became lovely women.

That miracle of bonding
With no words to describe
The closeness and the love
That I felt inside.

I’d already lost an ovary
And tube at the age of 26
With cysts removed from
The one they left.

So what a gift to bear 3 girls
From a few eggs that remained
What would I teach them?
What had I learned?

Imagine my surprise at age 43
When I felt a lump
It grazed the sternum, hard and sore
A pea sized thing on top

The pea-sized growth was bigger though
Deeper down inside
It measured 5 cm at the widest part
How could that be, I cried!

I lost the left with one node involved
AC and taxol followed.
And with my mind and vitamin E,
I kept my fair skin from burning.

I exclaimed to the one I love
They’ve fed our children well.
And he replied, but darling dear
I’ll miss the left of you.

The time has passed for 18 years
With gratitude every day
For all the gifts and friendships forged
While healing from the inside out.

Love your breasts whatever their size
And miss them when they’re gone
They will in part define
The person you become.