THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410140780
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Debra Gordon
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
My reaction was one of complete panic. Even though you know there's a chance, you just panic. I didn't think I could speak. I just ran across the street to where my husband worked, in a complete panic.
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That's Elsa Borman, 61, talking about how she felt five years ago when her surgeon told her a breast biopsy was positive.
Luckily, Borman had followed all the rules. A history of fibroid cysts insured that she received regular mammograms, so when her lump was found, it was found early.
In mid-June, after she finished the year at Princess Anne High School where she taught English, she had her right breast removed.
The surgery, she says, was a breeze.
But the follow-up chemotherapy - ``it was a million times worse.''
But it worked.
Today Borman is an active woman. She swims every day, plays tennis and has returned to college where she's taking courses in linguistics.
``I wanted to challenge myself,'' says the Norfolk woman. ``I want to prove that I can do anything.''
I first knew it was cancer when the technician handed me the film and said, ``Take it back to the doctor's office.''
They'd never done that before.
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Every day, Sadie Munford swallows two tiny white pills. Tamoxifen. Insurance against a reoccurrence of the breast cancer she beat 4 1/2 years ago.
Doctors caught the tumor early - thanks to the annual mammogram Munford always scheduled. No chemotherapy, no radiation was necessary. Just those tiny white pills.
The experience, says Munford, a medical assistant for a Virginia Beach anesthesiology practice, was like a wake-up call.
``To make sure you live each day to the fullest, that you don't leave things unsaid,'' she answers when asked how it changed life.
Even the loss of her breast she views with equanimity. ``I always told my friends I wished I could go braless,'' she says, laughing. ``Be careful of what you wish - it just might come true.''
KEYWORDS: BREAST CANCER by CNB