July 24, 2024
Is this the way to start an interesting and professional post on LinkedIn? Should I perhaps be more direct and yell at the professional community?
Or perhaps, I should use a lighter note? Use my wit. Write less seriously and forget that I blog about Norwegian accounting on a daily basis?
It started with my boss Kasia going to a screening test and having a cancer scare. Fortunately all ended well. It started with an invitation to free mammography as a part of a screening programme for women over 45 years of age. Yes. I am 45. What can I tell you. Even Norwegian business consultants age.... It started with me losing a lot of weight and discovering a lump in my breast.
Encouraged by my coworkers and my boss, I went to the screening. The results came back with a very visible and obvious diagnosis: possible malignant tumor of the breast. My reaction? A blessed and complete denial. I advertised to anyone who wanted to listen that surely "they give such diagnosis to everyone, so that people continue their diagnoses ". Well. Doctors don't do such things apparently.
Time and Resources After Being Diagnosed:
Screening ultrasound, mammography, ultrasound, biopsy x2, blood tests
Pre-surgery Tests
Surgeon consultation, blood tests, anestesiologist consultation, blood test, stomach ultrasound, lung x-ray, blood test
Surgery
Getting rid of the lump (just 320g of breast removed, yay), 3 lymph nodes removed, general anesthesia, post-surgery pain treatment, lymph drainage, 5 nights at the #breastcancer ward
Post-surgery
Regular visits with the surgeon and surgical nurse, monitoring of the scar, rehabilitation of the left arm after lymph node removal
Further Therapy
Hormone therapy, zoledronic acid treatment, radiotherapy
Do I even want to sum up the time, resources, and tangible as well as intangible costs of my therapy? No. It is not over. There is a lot of tests and visits, and little Czernobyl in my nearest future. And sick leaves. Being drawn away from the best job possible. From my colleagues and clients. From the buzz of the office and the new discoveries in Norwegian regulations that I like to investigate so much. It could have been avoided...
Why have I decided to write this post? Why on a professional accounting blog? Well, first of all I have been part of this amazing company for more than 12 years. I have been met with great solidarity, support and encouragement from both my management and my colleagues. And if this article and the LinkedIn post make ONE person sign up for a screening cancer test, I have done my share!
🌸⚠️ By reading this post, you could save the lives of your colleagues! ⚠️🌸 #cancerawareness #breastcancer #thereisnopinkribbonemojiavailable
Is this the way to start an interesting and professional post on LinkedIn? Should I perhaps be more direct and yell at the professional community?
🚨🚨🚨 TELL YOUR BOSS, COWORKER, EMPLOYEE, YOUR MOM, SISTER, OR COUSIN TO REGULARLY GO FOR #breastcancerscreening 🚨🚨🚨
Or perhaps, I should use a lighter note? Use my wit. Write less seriously and forget that I blog about Norwegian accounting on a daily basis?
🍹 #workation or #workoday 🍹 describes the period when you are at your workplace, enjoying yourself away from children, in-laws, boredom, etc. In my case, I am on a workation from cancer. Breast cancer, to be more specific: Luminal A HER2 negative breast cancer.
How it all started?
It started with my boss Kasia going to a screening test and having a cancer scare. Fortunately all ended well. It started with an invitation to free mammography as a part of a screening programme for women over 45 years of age. Yes. I am 45. What can I tell you. Even Norwegian business consultants age.... It started with me losing a lot of weight and discovering a lump in my breast.
Encouraged by my coworkers and my boss, I went to the screening. The results came back with a very visible and obvious diagnosis: possible malignant tumor of the breast. My reaction? A blessed and complete denial. I advertised to anyone who wanted to listen that surely "they give such diagnosis to everyone, so that people continue their diagnoses ". Well. Doctors don't do such things apparently.
Back to my witty yet professional post...
LinkedIn is a professional platform, so I thought I should write in a professional manner. You know, women have to fact-check everything so they seem more professional and less... womanly. And yes, this still stands in many companies.
So here is my (not entirely well-researched) breast cancer checklist.
Time and Resources:
Screening Ultrasound or Mammography
Screening Ultrasound or Mammography
- About 0.5 h annually
- In my town, if you choose to go private, it may cost between $50 - $150.
Time and Resources After Being Diagnosed:
Screening ultrasound, mammography, ultrasound, biopsy x2, blood tests
- 11 hours
- I am not listing costs as all tests in Poland are state-run once you are a cancer patient.
Pre-surgery Tests
Surgeon consultation, blood tests, anestesiologist consultation, blood test, stomach ultrasound, lung x-ray, blood test
- 7 hours
- I am not discussing the logistics of getting to the hospital and other places. My city boasts one of the most modern and best #cancercentres in this part of Europe.
Surgery
Getting rid of the lump (just 320g of breast removed, yay), 3 lymph nodes removed, general anesthesia, post-surgery pain treatment, lymph drainage, 5 nights at the #breastcancer ward
- 120 hours
- The cost... several thousand dollars? That my kind compatriots are willing to put into the system.
Post-surgery
Regular visits with the surgeon and surgical nurse, monitoring of the scar, rehabilitation of the left arm after lymph node removal
- 15 hours
- No idea
Further Therapy
Hormone therapy, zoledronic acid treatment, radiotherapy
- 15 sessions of radiotherapy (30 hours) plus five years of hormonal treatment
- Don't even get me started...
Do I even want to sum up the time, resources, and tangible as well as intangible costs of my therapy? No. It is not over. There is a lot of tests and visits, and little Czernobyl in my nearest future. And sick leaves. Being drawn away from the best job possible. From my colleagues and clients. From the buzz of the office and the new discoveries in Norwegian regulations that I like to investigate so much. It could have been avoided...
Honest confession:
Before my "birthday mammography" I hadn't tested myself in more than...5 years? maybe 7 years.
I have been diagnosed at a very early stage. I have access to the best team of surgeons, doctors and medical staff available. I have support of my employer, family and friends. I am so lucky.
Lastly. I am enjoying my workation immensely. But that is me. I also enjoyed my stay at the breast cancer ward. We all did. We were laughing so hard that our stomachs ached. Black humor at its finest. I will have to go to regular dentist and gynecologist visits. I have met new friends. I have convinced quite a few of my girlfriends to go to screening tests. So there are positive sides to the cancer I had not been aware of!
Still I highly recommend YOU to book a visit with your doctor. The sooner the better!
Anna Korpalska
I have been diagnosed at a very early stage. I have access to the best team of surgeons, doctors and medical staff available. I have support of my employer, family and friends. I am so lucky.
Lastly. I am enjoying my workation immensely. But that is me. I also enjoyed my stay at the breast cancer ward. We all did. We were laughing so hard that our stomachs ached. Black humor at its finest. I will have to go to regular dentist and gynecologist visits. I have met new friends. I have convinced quite a few of my girlfriends to go to screening tests. So there are positive sides to the cancer I had not been aware of!
Still I highly recommend YOU to book a visit with your doctor. The sooner the better!
Anna Korpalska
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