3rd time

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my third treatment. I'm not as nervous as I was the first two times. Maybe it's because I know what to expect (you could argue that fact, since I pretty much slept through the second one). I have seen where quite a few people say the effects get worse as you go along, but I'm hoping I won't see that happen. Even if it does, the side effects I've suffered have been pretty minimal -- just fatigue for about four of five days, and the low white blood cell counts. As long as I can work most of the time, I'll handle this OK.

Ever since my diagnosis, I've talked with one of the reporters at the newspaper where I work about doing a story or stories on bc, especially on the number of younger women who are being diagnosed (my surgeon said I was the fifth person under the age of 50 from our region she had seen this year). She's looking at doing it next month, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The reporter suggested I do a first-person account. I think it is a good idea and that it is important to get the word out about breast cancer. I'm just not sure how much I want to be directly involved in the story. Yes, I have this blog and anyone in the world can read it, but here I do have a certain amount of privacy. The only people who seem to be regular readers here are family and friends whom I've sent the link to. If it's in the paper, then everyone will know. Right now, in my daily off-line life, it's really just family, my co-workers, my mom's co-workers, a couple neighbors and a handful of friends who know. Am I ready be stopped in the soda shop at lunch or in Wal-Mart by strangers who want to talk? Or people from my hometown e-mailing or calling? My privacy is something that's important to me, but I also think it's important to let younger women know they're not immune to breast cancer just because of their age or because it hasn't been in their families.

Obviously, this is something I'll have to give a lot of thought to.