Although it was many years ago, this memory is crystal clear to me - I was 9-years old. My family and I were decorating the Christmas tree. Our dog Dandy was super excited about the tree, the family, and the festivities. Although she was not allowed in the living room, she could not contain her excitement and she ran into the room. She was circling us, jumping up and down on the furniture, and then ran into the tree on her escape route down the hallway to avoid getting in trouble. My mom reached up to catch the tree and then screamed as I’ve never heard her before. My 9-year-old brain thought she was mad at Dandy. I had a whole save Dandy speech in my head, "mom, she didn’t know any better and we got everything cleaned up, we'll keep her out of the living room, etc...." However, my mom’s scream was not about Dandy. When she raised her arms, she felt an excruciating pain in the left side of her chest. Later, a doctor’s appointment confirmed she had advanced breast cancer and would need a mastectomy.
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