My name is Jennifer Albanese and I’m 27 years old and a 90s baby! Living in the little ol’ first state, Delaware, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ER+/PR+ HER2- breast cancer in May 2018. I went through 5+ months of chemotherapy, July through December, as well as combining holistic medicines, exercise, and a change in diet. I love being outdoors, and helping other people. I'm a four cats lady. You can call me a plant lady too.
I just recently went through a mastectomy in January of this year. Upon awakening from anesthesia, my surgeon was checking my three drains. I was waking up like a chameleon, my eyes all blinky.
He grabs hold of the drains, lifts them up and says, "Wow, you have more balls than me!"
Luckily, I couldn’t feel much with the pain medication still running through me so the laughter wouldn’t hurt! He even had my mom in tears.
Funny thing is, as I am writing this email, I just received a text message from my mother-in-law, asking how I am doing. I told her great! I had two of my three drains removed. She responds with "Fantastic! Now you have less balls than your doc!" LOL
The next day, before he signed my discharge papers. He walked into my room and we talked about things unrelated to cancer. He then proceeds to the table where my vase of flowers and incentive spirometer were (fancy words for a breathing device) and asks if I’ve been using it correctly or smoking from it. He looks over at my vase of pink carnations and tells me, "You’re smokin’ the wrong kind of flowers!" Who needs a breathing device to help your lungs, when you’ve got laughter!
I am so thankful for my surgeon and the laughs along the way. I have trusted him since Day One, pleased with how comfortable I feel around him and even better we have good humor! I'm happy to announce that I am a breast cancer survivor!