Becoming an artist

I have not taken a single art class since 8th grade. I was one of those dorks that took math instead of art in high school. In college I had to drop the only art class I took after developing all of my film wrong the night before my midterm project was due.

However, I am now a pro at drawing breasts. Ok pervs, not like that. I can draw the basic outline of one,  I can diagram my tumor including it's wonky edges, the duct it is growing in, and the micro invasion that formed as well as the areola and where I have to put numbing cream before my surgery.  For extra credit, I can also draw the lymph nodes in my arm pit. Perhaps I should look into taking art classes in the future?

Google is not always your friend

Things I never thought I would find in my google search history:
   -Is radiation like sunburn?
   -How bad does a lumpectomy hurt?
   -Breast Cancer gene test
   -Side effects of radiation
   -BRCA 1 &2
   -Stereotactic Biopsy
   -Valium side effects (Note: this is because they gave me valium before my MRI, not because I take it)
   -Vacuum assisted biopsy
   -Stages of breast cancer


Google is great because when you have zero prior knowledge about all things breast cancer it provides some great links to information. However, the is a lot of scary shit out there! Avoid typing things such as: What other cancers can breast cancer patients suffer from? The words "brain cancer" will pop up and that's something you DO NOT need to read. (Advice from someone that read it.)

I've found that the informational packet my doctor gave me to be the best thing for me to read. Way less scary than the world wide web!!!