By Charlavan Baker Hart

April 1, 2009 (El Cajon)-- I spend part of each week and sometimes a portion of each day doing what I call ‘social cancer research’. My team of researchers is large but in my universe it is just me. Chief, cook and bottle washer.

I had cancer 9 years ago. An advanced case of breast cancer! It hit me like a ton of bricks because I had not even considered such a thing. I thought cancer happened to people who maybe had abused their bodies, had inherited a tendency, perhaps, or other vague but unproven notions.

PRELUDE

Little girls can hardly wait to have boobies.  When I was about 13 I started to notice a difference in my body.  I wasn’t all LITTLE GIRL anymore.  By 14 it was pretty evident and at 15, I was verifiably a WOMAN.  My goodness, there is a lot of attention paid to those adornments!  It may not have been prime time but it was certainly getting there and I was proud of it.  Wow.  I didn’t have to do ANYTHING, but wait.