In November 2009, Megan went for her yearly check-up to the gynecologist. Although she was seeing a new doctor, the two clicked immediately and began "gabbing about shopping," she said. While the two women talked, the doctor was doing a routine breast exam and felt two lumps she described as "concerning." She was immediately sent for a mammogram and then a biopsy in Akron."I knew right then and th
ere that things weren't great," she said. Megan met with a surgeon and decided what was best for her was to have a bilateral mastectomy -- removing both of her breasts -- and then having them reconstructed. She then had six rounds of chemotherapy, some of the most trying days of her life. But with the endless support of her family and a strong inner circle of friends, she was able to get through the days when she couldn't even make it out of bed because of being so sick. "I had my port put in in the beginning of December and I started my treatment in mid-December," she said. "I would spend five days in bed for one (chemo) treatment." While going through treatment, Megan new she always had a friend right around the corner who would be willing to do whatever she wanted, even if it was just to sit down and talk with her for a couple of minutes. Megan's friend and neighbor say she's not one to sit around and do nothing, so by sharing her experience with her friends while going through it helped her to be "active" and show her diagnosis wasn't all "doom and gloom." Through The Girlfriends Corner Megan can be assured her experience will be etched in the minds of many women whose lives she has already touched, and those she may not even know yet, but someday will. "Letting people see this aspect of yourself gives them an understanding that you don't stop living."
