Congratulations, You Survived! (Sorry You Feel Like Crap.)

Christine Carter, PhD, reads her article · Oct 8, 2026 · 10m

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“An annosa oak is not felled by a single stroke.” —Old Latin proverb

After I had a partial mastectomy, 28 days of radiation, and a radical hysterectomy in six successive months, my dad hosted a little dinner party to celebrate the end of my treatment. “She’s cancer-free!” my husband happily announced. I was diagnosed with breast cancer on the heels of my mother’s sudden ovarian cancer diagnosis and passing. That I’d survived was, to put it mildly, a tremendous relief to everyone. It had been a hard year, and we were ready for it to be over.

Little did I…