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Beloved author Judy Blume is recovering after undergoing a mastectomy for breast cancer, reports TheWrap. In a blog post titled "!@#$% Happens,”Blume, who is 74, wrote on Wednesday that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June.
"It was good that I wasn't alone and that she, who has been my doctor for seventeen years, could explain it to me," she writes. "Very early. Very small. Well differentiated. All good news. But it was invasive ductal carcinoma."
Blume’s novels, written for children and young adults, have at times been a source of controversy for tackling issues like racism, divorce, bullying, and teen sex. In her blog post about her cancer she writes with the same wit and honesty that turned her books into classics.
“I have small breasts (a la Margaret Simon),” she writes. “A-cups? The breast surgeon asked at our first meeting. She nailed it. I told her the exercises didn't work for me. Not sure she got my attempt at a joke. … At the shop where I was sent (pre-surgery) to get a couple of mastectomy camisoles for post surgery comfort, a yenta with a sense of humor said, Honey... take them both off and get yourself a matched pair.”
Months before her diagnosis, Blume had spoken out against the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. Always the go-getter, she writes that she didn’t have time to get emotional over her diagnosis, but instead “sprang into action” to explore different treatment plans and get support.
In the six weeks between her diagnosis and her surgery, she was able to spend time with her family and attend a San Francisco screening of Tiger Eyes, the film version of Blume’s 1981 novel with the same name, directed by her son Lawrence.
Now it’s a month after her surgery, and Blume writes that she’s “feeling stronger every day” with the help of her friends, family, and her husband George.
“As I've told my friends who've also been treated for breast cancer, I've joined The Club - not one I wanted to join or even thought I would ever be joining - but here I am. I’m part of this Sisterhood of the Traveling Breast Cells (apologies to Ann Brashares),” she writes. “Medical diagnoses can leave you feeling alone and scared. When it comes to breast cancer you’re not alone, and scary though it is, there’s a network of amazing women to help you through it.”
Image via Getty.
