Chapter 1 It Ain’t Gold in Them Hills

In This Chapter
➤ Breast cancer—the big picture
➤ First clues in lumps and pictures
➤ Diagnosis with a biopsy
➤ When the shocking news comes
At this moment, more than two million breast cancer survivors are hugging their kids
and grandkids. They’re trotting off to work or trekking the Rockies, chairing a fund-
raiser or a family reunion. We breast cancer survivors make up a huge sisterhood (and
a tiny brotherhood). In this chapter, we’ll look at the big picture of breast cancer and
how it’s changing. We’ll outline the telltale signs of breast cancer and explain how
doctors know whether the signs are for real or not.
Finally, we’ll prepare you for the possible news that you have suddenly become a
member of the club nobody wants to join. Not one of us in the sisterhood is ever glad
to learn that another one of you is newly initiated. But we will extend a long arm of
support should you find yourself eligible. There is no trial membership. The initiation
rites are the pits. The dues are way too steep. But the membership is for life. There is
no past tense to having breast cancer.