Remember That Time When

Remember That Time When

Remember that time when
I had breast cancer?
I do. Every day.

I am the one
in "one in five"
of breast cancer survivors

who had lymph nodes
removed from their armpit
and now have lymphedema:

"chronic painless swelling
in the arm." Chronic? Yes.
Painless? Not so much.

Please consider the pain
of the compression sleeve
all day, and then

the other compression "garment"
all night. And yet,
because of this expensive

(and I mean expensive)
"lingerie," I am constantly
reminded: I am alive.

I am still alive
twenty-two arm-swollen
years later. Alive, and

grateful.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020