The day after seeing my GP I went back to work. It was a Friday, 1st July. Mid-morning I received a telephone call from the hospital to invite me to attend the Breast Unit on 15 July, in exactly two weeks’ time.
We had booked to go on holiday to West Wales with our children and grandchildren from 8 to 15 July, then spend the weekend in the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, returning home on the evening of Sunday 17 July. I considered coming back from Wales a day early to attend the appointment, then go back for the weekend in Herefordshire, but that seemed like a lot of bother and I didn’t want to cut short our time together in Wales. We were all looking forward to the holiday. I asked when the next available appointment would be and was told I could have one on 19 July. I figured four days would not make a difference and I took the later appointment.
Within minutes I received a text with confirmation of the appointment at the breast clinic, and that was the moment I got onto the emotional rollercoaster. Seeing the words “suspected breast cancer” in black and white made the possibility that the lump could be suspicious very real. And then there was the mole... That weekend we told our children about finding the lump and that I had taken the later appointment. They were naturally concerned and upset and said we could cancel the holiday but I assured them that I wanted to go ahead as planned. Besides, planning the holiday and being together would help pass the time and be a good distraction. We didn't tell them about the mole.
Work was really busy; as well as trying to get things in place before going on holiday, it was one of my busiest weeks of the school year, which was a good thing in some respects. But I found it hard to focus at times with thoughts coming in waves as to what might lie ahead. One of these waves came when I received an appointment to have the mole on my arm checked out by a dermatologist on 21 July, two days after my breast clinic appointment, another moment of realisation that this could be serious. But at other times I felt much calmer and positive.
After a manic week at work, we set off for Wales, where we shared a house by the sea with our daughter and son, their spouses, and our three beautiful grandsons. Anxiety washed over me at times, but being together and having fun mostly kept my mind distracted. I'll admit to wondering whether this might be our last family holiday, my last holiday, and this was another reason for not wanting to cancel it. We spent the weekend in the Wye Valley with our son and his family, then returned home with the breast clinic and dermatology appointments scheduled for that week.
To be continued…
