Surviving the breast cancer bombshell.

• Author: Strassman, Marcia
• Position: Medicine & Health

AS AN ACTRESS, I have been fortunate to have a fulfilling and rewarding career performing on stage and in television and film since I was 18 years old. I have played a variety of roles in my life, from nurse Margie Cutler in the early episodes of "M*A*S*H," to Julie Kotter in "Welcome Back, Kotter," to Honey in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" movies--and, in real life, as a morn to my extrordinary 22-year-old daughter, Lizzie. The one role I certainly never expected to play is that of a real-life breast cancer patient but, unfortunately for me, I got the part.

My journey through cancer diagnosis and treatment begum in March 2007. I always have been diligent about scheduling regular doctor appointments and getting mammograms, so when I felt a large mound on my left breast, I rushed to my gynecologist the next day. I never imagined I would be on the receiving end of a phone call from my physician saying the six words no one wants to hear: "I do not have good news."

As anyone with cancer will tell you, receiving the diagnosis is an extremely daunting experience--even for the strongest person. I am a very positive and pragmatic individual and approached my initial cancer diagnosis in a very practical way. I accepted that I had breast cancer and immediately began looking for a way to "fix" the problem. One of my first questions to my doctor was, "What do we do, and how fast can we do it'?" I thought I would conduct research, find the right physicians, immediately schedule my lumpectomy, followed by a mastectomy if needed, and then everything would be line--but cancer had a different plan for me.

When I went for my preoperative consultation prior to my scheduled lumpectomy, my doctor told me that the cancer had spread, or metastasized, to my bones. I proceeded with a lumpectomy, during which my surgeon and medical oncologist discovered the cancer had spread throughout my lymph nodes. After the operation. I received the official diagnosis that I was a stage IV breast cancer patient. I realized then that this was not a problem I could just simply eliminate: I had to learn how to live and cope with metastatic cancer.

When I was told that I had cancer, the first thing I did was call every doctor I knew to find the right one for me. I wanted to address this head-on--and last. Since my diagnosis was stage IV breast cancer, my physicians agreed that it was necessary to get me on a treatment designed to help stabilize my bones and manage my disease. They...