It was on a Tuesday afternoon in November of last year that I went to pick up the results of my biopsy. Carcinoma is the same word in Portuguese and English. There I sat very somber in the waiting hall, waiting to see my doctor and discuss this biopsy. I was overcome with fear of my future and fear and sorrow for my family, they being far away.

One is never prepared for this news and I think each person handles it differently. The fear that I was going die was so great.

Panic and fear, but then came some calm and certitude and acceptance that I was going to beat this and move forward.

I was lucky I had a sympathetic and assuring surgeon. He drew diagrams and explained the surgery that he would do and the probable type of cancer that I had and what the possible treatment would be. He was very reassuring and that helped my mental state quite a lot.

I was to go into the private hospital in Viana do Castelo the following Tuesday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. This is where my private insurance comes through.

The surgery was done at 8 o'clock that evening.

I stayed in the hospital till Saturday morning and then went home.

My prognosis was very good. My cancer had been localized, about 1 cm in size. That was very good news. I would not need chemo-therapy. The cancer had not traveled to any lymph glands, lungs, organs, or under my arm. They had removed the lymph glands under my armpit as a causionary measure.

I had to carry a sack attached to me under my left arm to collect all the fluids that would drain from the lymph glands that had been removed. This fluid had to be checked by the nurse and measured everyday. I ended up having to carry this sack for almost 2 weeks. I seemed to have had an abundance of fluids, I don't know why. After I went home I had to go to the hospital every evening to have the charge nurse empty the sack and mark the amount of fluid.

During this time I also saw the surgeon 3 or 4 times. He told me as long as there was such a large quanity of fluid coming out and until it became less bloody and more like body fluid I had to continue with the sack.

I was given an appointment to see my surgeon, but this time it was to be in the public hospital. I was to go to the oncology section of the hospital.

My treatment was to be as follows:

Radiation therapy in Porto for 6 weeks.

And I would be taking each day at the same hour 1 anti-hormone medicine, Tamoxifen for the next 5 years. My cancer had been fed by hormones.

My doctor gave me some Tamoxifen, enough for 3 months and scripts to pick up more in the hospital pharmacy. I was also told of all the possible side effects that this medicine could cause. All the medicine was free.

On top of that I got forms signed by the doctor, 30 days of free door to door transportation to Porto by the voluntary fire-department. This seemed unimaginable to me, coming from United States where this would be unheard of.

An appointment was made for me to go to Porto at the Radiation clinic. I then needed to go to the voluntary fire department in Viana do Castelo and to make the arrangements for my transportation to Porto.


They would be picking me up at 7 in the morning Monday through Friday. I was always the first, since I live in the village farthest away. There were ususally 5 or 6 others patients to be picked up and taken to Porto for different kinds of treatments in different locals. The drive to Porto is less than 1 hour from Viana do Castelo.

The radiation clinic in Porto was excellent and the doctor there spoke English, my surgeon spoke only Portuguese.

The treatment itself took only 3 minutes, plus the time to take off your tee-shirt. There would always be a wait, the waiting area at the clinic was always full of people. And the travel time, long and tiresome having to drive through all the villages picking-up and taking home.I was always the first pick-up and the last to get off.

During this time I could not get the treatment side of my breast wet or use any creams. I could not wear a bra. I was to wear only 100% cotton tee shirts that had a high neck line. No sun expossure at all, but this was winter time and not too difficult to follow. It was harder to wash my hair since I had to keep my left breat dry.

I would get home at around 12:30, Andre would be waiting and always had some soup made and ready for me to eat. The weather was cold, it was December. After eating some soup I would go to sleep, I was exhausted.