When I was diagnosed with breast cancer and recovering from my mastectomy, I called
y-me a few times. I did run into a couple of issues; one, they don't peer match by size (which I doubt I'll be able to change but I can at least make myself available on that category), and they had no disabled breast cancer survivors for me to talk to. So I contacted them to volunteer, both as a hotline volunteer and as a peer match. Their volunteers are all survivors of at least one year. The training is 4 days before the year anniversary of my mastectomy, and then I'll be working with a coach for a few calls. I'm pretty excited; y-me was not the only place I called looking for a match, but they gave me other people to call, even though I never found a match. I still called y-me several times, like when I discovered my "armpit breast," an artifact of being a large woman. I was utterly shocked, especially since it was quite swollen when I first discovered it, and the hotline volunteers talked me down from a panic more than once.
I know I'm not the only woman with a disability to also face breast cancer. Hopefully, once I've trained, the next woman who needs to talk to another disabled woman won't go without that support. They only want 20 hours a month for a hotline volunteer, and it is a job I can do even when I need to lie down. The training is two full days, but they'll accommodate me as best they can so I can train with my limitations. Some extra pain meds for breakthrough pain and some extra time to sleep the next week, and I should be able to manage it.I'm thrilled and excited.
While I'm talking about supporting y-me, my friend
will be walking for y-me on Mother's Day in Atlanta, Georgia. For obvious reasons I don't walk much, though I may choose to roll in a later event. However, this year, I'm going to send my friends to support Susan here.
