Elizabeth Colombo Honors Her Grandmother's Breast Cancer Journey

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we asked Patch readers to share their breast cancer journeys on Patch. This is Elizabeth Colombo's letter to her grandmother:

My grandma was a complicated woman, but — perhaps above all else — my grandma was a tough woman. Grandma would decide she wanted the furniture in her house rearranged and she’d do so by herself. Grandma’s garden was always the most beautiful garden in the neighborhood, and she taught the neighborhood kids how to plant and build sand terrariums. She was freakishly strong when working on a project with her trademark determination. Diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1980s via mammography (she never felt a lump), she handled it like the projects she took on in and around her home – with dedication and grit.

Grandma, a registered nurse, understood the seriousness of her diagnosis. She underwent a mastectomy right before Christmas, during which the doctor found cancer in the other breast, too, through a deep biopsy. After Christmas, she had another mastectomy to remove the other breast. She handled it all like a champ, and amazingly, with never a complaint. Grandma didn’t want life interrupted, so Christmas was the same as always (plus some anxious loved ones).

For almost my entire life, my grandma was flat-chested. I loved going to Grandma’s house a block and a half away from my house for many reasons, one of which was to swim. Grandma never had reconstructive surgery because she didn’t want the risks of additional surgery, but she was so confident and so comfortable in her own body that her lack of breasts was never odd to me.

All I knew was that my grandma was alive and, because of her double mastectomy, I built decades of wonderful memories with her. This just hit me recently as I was getting ready to swim and I thought, “Grandma always seemed so comfortable in her own skin,” and because of that, I thought she was amazing as we swam and gardened and cooked and played games together. It never even occurred to me that she looked different than other women, because I loved her and I loved spending time with her, so she was beautiful to me. I thank God she was vigilant because I was only a toddler when she was diagnosed, so I would not have any memories with her but for her responsibility and bravery.

My grandma was not someone who was comfortable touting her own virtue, thus, she would probably not be happy with me writing this, but she was a model for strength when facing a breast cancer diagnosis. For that reason, her story should be told. Her story is a lesson in how important awareness is. Grandma’s watchfulness and action gave her over thirty more years to live her life and to make memories.

Another reason Grandma’s story should be told is for the lesson it provides to survivors’ loved ones. My grandpa was the model husband through all of this. He supported Grandma and loved her through it and until the day he died. Her breast cancer and the changes to her body because of it may have even increased my grandpa’s love of my grandma. He was quite a man and he’s a lesson to the loved ones of survivors to be there for your person and to love and support your survivor through it all.

If faced with the diagnosis my grandma got in her 60s, I don’t know if I would respond with the same courage and grace, but I hope and pray I would. In the meantime, I try to stay on top of my health and encourage others to do the same. We only get one body, so we should love it as much as my grandma loved hers.

—Elizabeth Colombo

See more stories from other breast cancer survivors, fighters and supporters, here.

To learn more about breast cancer or how you can help, please visit The National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Image Credit: Elizabeth Colombo