Diane Weldon says she is ‘a little more scarred, but much stronger’ after surviving breast cancer
The many negatives that come with cancer are nothing compared to the positives, according to breast cancer survivor Diane Weldon.
The day before her 42nd birthday, Weldon found out she had breast cancer.
“It had always been the furthest thing from my mind,” she said. “The year before, I’d dropped my cancer policy at work. I thought I didn’t need it.”
After realizing she had been unusually tired, Weldon said she went to the doctor, thinking it was a thyroid issue.
“My doctor scolded me when she realized I hadn’t been doing regular checks,” Weldon explained. “I remember I went for my first mammogram and while they saw a spot, they didn’t think it was cancer.”
Six months later, Weldon went for a second check.
“That spot had just exploded,” she said. “They immediately started treatments and I had surgery to remove the tumor and surrounding tissue.”
She went through 36 rounds of radiation and had to have medicine injected through a port in her chest for a year. Now, a year and a half later, she is cancer free.
“I feel like God surrounded me with love and support,” she said. “My co-workers raised funds for me and my friends brought me food.”
Weldon said even though she did lose her hair — which has grown back — and the treatments did make her weak and sick, when she tells people that cancer changes everything, she doesn’t mean those
changes are all bad.
“Your outlook shifts,” she said. “I immediately realized that I was wasting time on some things and not spending enough on others.”
Weldon said she has started making more time for family, working harder on mending relationships and being more thoughtful about her faith.
“I have been a child of God forever,” she said. “I open his book now every day, though. I want to know him better.”
Weldon is a little more scarred, she admits, but she feels stronger.
“I remember feeling that first sense of panic,” she said. “And now, after treatment, it is always in the back of your mind, you worry about whether it will come back.”
She remembers her fear when she first went for the mammogram and hopes that others out there will make sure they are checked.
“During the second mammogram, they wanted to do the biopsy immediately,” she said. “I was scared and I ran. I used the lie that I had to get back to work. I spent the weekend pretending nothing was wrong, but I returned to the hospital and had it done. Please get it done. You can handle it.”
She credits the support of her friends getting her through the rough times, as well as the organization Summit Quest — an organization that works with families dealing with cancer — for helping her daughter.
“I was going to Cancer Navigators and they told me about Summit Quest,” she said. “My daughter is very quiet and I would talk to her, but she would say nothing was wrong. Taking her to Summit Quest, it let her forget about the fact that mom was sick.”
The strides being made in cancer treatment are also encouraging, she said.
“They are so smart now,” said Weldon. “There are better treatments and genetic testing. You can be more aware.”
One lesson she learned is that even something small can mean a lot.
“A nurse told me that I was required to get 10 hugs a day,” she laughed. “All of my coworkers and friends made it a mission to make sure I got them. It does help and makes you feel better.”