Knowing that there is breast cancer in her family Christa wanted to have a baseline screening before getting pregnant.
Transcript
Well as far as my experience goes, it had run in my family and so I’d gotten a couple of tests done just to see a baseline. I think I’d had one done before and that was when I was about 34 years old. My mum had it when she was 45 and my grandma and all of my aunts had had it as well. So I kind of thought that I would probably get it, but I didn’t think it would be for a long period of time. But I thought I would just set a baseline up just so we would know what my breast tissue was like and we would know what to look for. And then my husband and I had started talking about maybe having kids, and so I thought I should probably get a test done just because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do that for a few years after I was pregnant, and when I was breastfeeding, and that kind of thing.
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- Reconstruction surgery – ChristaChrista was satisfied with the results even though the tattoo faded over time.
- Messages to others – ChristaAs a teacher, Christa noticed that some children think they can't do something when it is new. She encourages others to give yourself time and then things may be easier.
- How it affects family and friends – ChristaChrista learned that she had breast cancer on the same day that she discovered she was pregnant. She thinks she could have shared this in a better way with others.
- Challenging emotions – ChristaChrista experienced postpartum depression right after her breast cancer treatment.
- Understanding the diagnosis – ChristaKnowing that there is breast cancer in her family Christa wanted to have a baseline screening before getting pregnant.
- Testing and diagnosis – ChristaBeing diagnosed with breast cancer and finding out she was pregnant on the same day was difficult for Christa.
- First symptoms – ChristaDespite her family history, Christa had to insist on being screened as a baseline when she was only 35.
- Sexuality, femininity and intimacy – ChristaChrista and her partner were ultimately able to resolve these difficulties.
- Recurrent and metastatic (advanced) breast cancer – ChristaFacing the possibility of more bad news was extremely difficult for Christa.
- Follow-up care and the risk of recurrence – ChristaChrista's concerns led her to insist on additional follow-up after being told it was no longer necessary.