Who is MAB?

Who is MAB?

“Help me, Kelly,” my mother cried out in pain. “You know what to do.”

Oh, how I wished I did. That plea still haunts me.

“I know I have breast cancer,” I said to the radiologist as she entered the room with a look of doom on her face.

“You do?” she replied, her expression changing to relief mixed with confusion.

“Yes. I’ve been waiting to be told I have breast cancer ever since my mother died of breast cancer.”

“I have to have a breast biopsy,” my friend said.

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed that everything turns out okay,” I replied.

“I already know I have breast cancer. The biopsy is just to find out which kind of cancer it is.”

My heart stopped. Not again!

Who is MAB?

To you, MAB is the parent who loved and nurtured you from the day you were born.

To you, MAB is the friend you waited for your whole life.

To you, MAB is the friend who helped you through your darkest days, even though she was going through the hardest time of her own life.

To me, MAB is all these things and more.

To me, MAB is Margaret Anne Barnes, my mother.

To me, MAB is Mrs. Amanda Beyer-Klayman, my friend.

To me, MAB is encouragement; MAB is hope; MAB is a beautiful memory.

My mother, myself, my friend. Each of us had breast cancer. I am the lone survivor.

Who Is MAB?

Let me tell you more about MAB.

Memories of MAB, my mom

One of the earliest memories I have of my mother was at the doctor’s office. I was about five or six years old. We were in the waiting room when the nurse came out and called for “Margaret Barnes” and my mother stood up. I grabbed her arm to get her to sit back down and urgently whispered to her, “She called for ‘Margaret’”.

My mom looked down at me with an amused look on her face and said, “My name is Margaret.”

I was dumbfounded. I thought her name was Peggy.

Now I was confused. Why did everyone call her Peggy when her name was Margaret?

Memories of MAB, my friend

I met Amanda when we were both nurses in a cardiac unit at the hospital. On her first day there, she walked into the nurses’ station and asked if there was somewhere she could put her lunchbox. I badged her into the break room, showed her where to change into scrubs, gave her a quick tour of the unit, then introduced her to her orientation nurse.

When Amanda finished her orientation on the day shift, we worked the night shift together for several years. Neither of us knew during our first brief encounter what a close friendship we would soon develop.

MAB, Peggy’s Journey

My mom found the lump in her right breast on January 18, 1997. She told me about it a week later. I was flabbergasted she didn’t tell me about it the moment she found it. She said she didn’t want to ruin my wedding anniversary. My mom was like that, always putting others before herself. (Read: The Day Cancer Turned Pink)

My mom’s cancer was treated with chemo, a radical right mastectomy, and radiation. She fought a long, hard battle until 4/24/2001. I learned so many lessons from her that I would need nineteen years later when I found a lump in my own right breast.

My Journey

I had felt pain in my right breast, but the mammogram came back clear, so I thought it was just another fibrocystic breast lump I was feeling. Usually, the lumps went away after a while, but this one kept hurting. When I went for my mammogram the next year, is when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m convinced cancer started the previous year.

I went through four months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and six weeks of daily radiation treatments. It was during my last few weeks of radiation when Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right breast also. (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror)

MAB, Amanda’s Journey

My last radiation treatment was on 3/3/2016. Amanda’s first day of chemo was the very next day. She had been by my side through my cancer treatments; now I would be there to help her navigate her cancer journey. She too went through chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and radiation treatments. Her cancer journey ended on 10/18/2017. (Read: The Day Cancer Turned Pink…Again)

My Mother, Myself, My Friend

My mother, myself, my friend. It’s lonely being the sole survivor. But I still have my band of supporters, my heroes.

And now that I have been through cancer, I want to walk with you along your cancer journey and be your supporter; whether you are the patient, the family, or the greatest friend a person has ever had.

Continue reading other posts on this blog to find hope, information, encouragement, and support to turn the chaos of cancer care into clarity. This website is to help you go through cancer, not just get through cancer.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.