Priest
11-01-2009, 01:45 PM
http://hellobeautiful.com/your-world/roxanne-shante-is-fighting-breast-cancer/
Roxanne Shante (aka Lolita Shante Gooden) is widely recognized as the first female hip hop artist to break through the male dominated industry. The rapper recently spoke to blackvoices.com and shared some insight on her very real life battle with breast cancer … in her own words:
In March, I noticed a lump in my left breast, rather small at the time and didn’t really know what I was feeling. So instead of going straight to the doctor’s office, I started asking friends their opinion and trying to go by their experiences. It was such a stupid move. Well, I figured I was just getting older. A hysterectomy in my early thirties led me to believe that I would be fine. Another stupid move.
I let months go by – five months to be exact. The weight loss of over 40 pounds made me feel like, “Damn, this diet is finally working.” But then I remembered I wasn’t on a diet. So on a bright, sunny day in August 2009, I walked into Doshi center for a mammogram. I put on the gown and stepped up to the machine. As soon as the technician took my breast in her hand, she asked me how long had I had the lump. It’s huge, she said. I made a joke, she giggled, but I was scared and angry that I had waited so long.
I was in denial. I even went so far as to ignore the letters sent by the lab that read: “Urgent!!! Please contact us.”
I had gotten a call from the doctor, “I just received your images at my office and they have been trying to reach you for weeks. As soon as you get back to New York, you come to my office. This is your life.”
I hung up, turned the phone off, walked out on the set and tried to pretend that the call never happen. But they did. And it showed on my face.
The doctors was a different story, however.
Roxanne Shante (aka Lolita Shante Gooden) is widely recognized as the first female hip hop artist to break through the male dominated industry. The rapper recently spoke to blackvoices.com and shared some insight on her very real life battle with breast cancer … in her own words:
In March, I noticed a lump in my left breast, rather small at the time and didn’t really know what I was feeling. So instead of going straight to the doctor’s office, I started asking friends their opinion and trying to go by their experiences. It was such a stupid move. Well, I figured I was just getting older. A hysterectomy in my early thirties led me to believe that I would be fine. Another stupid move.
I let months go by – five months to be exact. The weight loss of over 40 pounds made me feel like, “Damn, this diet is finally working.” But then I remembered I wasn’t on a diet. So on a bright, sunny day in August 2009, I walked into Doshi center for a mammogram. I put on the gown and stepped up to the machine. As soon as the technician took my breast in her hand, she asked me how long had I had the lump. It’s huge, she said. I made a joke, she giggled, but I was scared and angry that I had waited so long.
I was in denial. I even went so far as to ignore the letters sent by the lab that read: “Urgent!!! Please contact us.”
I had gotten a call from the doctor, “I just received your images at my office and they have been trying to reach you for weeks. As soon as you get back to New York, you come to my office. This is your life.”
I hung up, turned the phone off, walked out on the set and tried to pretend that the call never happen. But they did. And it showed on my face.
The doctors was a different story, however.