May 2005

Since I couldn't think of a clever name for my blog, I didn't start it in May. Procrastination has a way of creeping up like that. But, I would not have started this blog in May because May was pretty uneventful.

Starting somewhere around the beginning of May, my right breast didn't feel right. I had a burning sensation in the milk duct which almost went away when I pressed on it. Burning sensation doesn't sound quite right either. It itched maybe? Anyhow, it was annoying but I assumed it was some small infection that would clear up.

May is a hard month for my family anyhow, and so that was my next theory. I was sad, and distracted and my body was responding to these emotions. But towards the end of the month, the breast began to feel heavy and puffy.

I hit my teenage years in the early 70's, a time when every female of my age had "My body, My Self" on the shelf. My first GYN exam was at the Fenway Health Clinic where they did the exam with a mirror so you could watch. Women were being told to take control of their health, and I was shown how to do a self Breast Examination. It was emphasized that I should do this every month. And I did, almost religiously. Around ten years ago, I realized that I was missing months, so I started doing my SBE every time I took a shower, or generally, every day.

Now that my breast was in pain, heavy and puffy, my SBE's became less cursory. On May 26th I felt the lump. It felt like a lima bean.