The Hammock

A sign of God’s protection right when she needed it

- JULIE GOODBLESSING CORCORAN

This wasn’t the first surgery I’d undergone since my can-cer diagnosis, but I worried it wouldn’t be my last. Back in July, I had gone to the doctor to ask about a strange, painful rash on my chest. Like a sunburn that wouldn’t heal. It turned out to be breast cancer. I was shocked.

I had a lumpectomy at the end of August. I woke up post-op, my chest tightly bandaged. I thought the operation would be the end of it. But cancer cells had been discovered in the margins. That meant I needed an additional surgery, called a re-excision, to remove those cells.

Tomorrow’s surgery was the re-excision. Would I get the all-clear? Or would I have to endure more surgeries? Maybe even radiation?