Chicago Sun-Times' Mary Mitchell diagnosed with cancer

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: Breast cancer battle is just beginning : April 13, 2009 7:00 PM : BY MARY MITCHELL : More than 500 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast cancer every day. : On March 13, I was one of them. : It was as if someone had strapped me into the cab of a roller coaster. : Each new test jerked me up a monstrous incline; each new piece of information flung me into an abyss. : And still I consider myself blessed. : I have the support of family and friends who believe in the power of prayer. : I have medical insurance and understanding employers. : And I have a team of compassionate, well-trained doctors. : On February 10, during a routine physical, my longtime family doctor, Dr. James P. Baraglia, felt a lump. : It just so happened I was scheduled to take a mammogram that same day. : Twenty-eight days later, after a follow-up ultrasound and a biopsy, I got the diagnosis over the phone. : "You have a cancer," the radiologist told me. : His words were paralyzing. I spent days weeping and praying before I had the strength to even begin researching my disease. : The work of Susan Love of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation was a good place to start. She is considered a breast cancer guru, and sees breast cancer as a "very common disease." : While it is news when a 30- or 40-something celebrity battles breast cancer, 77 percent of the cases occur in women older than 50, Love points out. : In fact, the average age for a breast cancer diagnosis is 61 years old. I will be 60 next month. : So on top of all the other age-related afflictions women can look forward to, there's a good chance we will get some form of breast cancer in our lifetime. : Yet for the most part, breast cancer gets the silent treatment among black women. : I cannot justify being quiet. : Because of the silence -- coupled with the limited access most low-income women have to quality healthcare -- cancer is often discovered in African-American women at late stages. : Because I usually get annual mammograms, my disease was discovered at a relatively early stage. : Still, the doctors described what I have -- ductal carcinoma in situ as well as infiltrating breast cancer -- as a "sneaky" and "wild" form of breast cancer. : Unfortunately, that is not unusual. : Black women, regardless of age or body weight, have a threefold greater risk of developing a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer compared with non-black women, Boston-based researchers reported recently, according to Reuters Health. : Without an aggressive plan to increase the availability of mammograms and other early detection screening to low-income women, the poor prognosis for black women with breast cancer drives the perception that it is a death sentence. : It is not. : Over the past 30 days, I have been embraced by black women who have survived the disease because of early detection. : Now I've been drafted into a war where tens of thousands perish every year, partly because of a lack of knowledge. : I can't hide. : After reading this, if just one woman gets a long overdue mammogram, I will be encouraged. : If just one woman stops ignoring the lump in her breast, I will be strengthened. : If just one more woman joins the fight for better breast cancer screening, I will be empowered. : As one radiologist pointed out, the medical community has done a great job raising breast cancer awareness. : Now it must get the word out that treatment does save lives. : Medical professionals must also address the struggle some women have with self-image -- a struggle so fierce that some would rather sacrifice their lives than go through radical surgery. : More women need to know that there are options available, including reconstructive surgery -- which is why expanding health care coverage is critical. : But please, don't tell me that my breasts have served their purpose. : It has nothing to do with vanity. : When breast cancer victims have to give up their breasts to save their lives, they are entitled to their grief. : We are mourning the loss of a part of ourselves. : On Friday, I begin my personal battle with breast cancer. : I am thankful to all of you who have helped me cope over the past two months. : And I'm thankful to God for giving me hope.

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