Growing

Last year, I grew a baby inside me. He grew most of the year, from March til December. I was tired, but I felt all right, and it was so hyggelig whenever he moved - my tiny friend. When he came, he came fast, and we met in the real world on December 15, less than a week before my 36th birthday. He's filled my life ever since - he's a wild one, a ball of energy, a tiny adventurer.

Now it is August, and I felt like I was starting to get into the swing of it; and to get ready to return to work in October. But now I am growing a different kind of life inside me. I have cancer. In my left breast. The tumour is 3 cm wide so has probably been growing there for some time.

Was I growing both at the same time? Or which came first? Did the pregnancy hormones make the tumour grow? Would I have noticed it sooner if my breasts hadn't been swollen with milk? Did it affect my milk?

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