#295 Backstory of the Poem: Kathie Giorgio’s “SEX
AFTER BREAST CANCER”
Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? In June of 2017, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a partial mastectomy, 20 rounds of radiation, and I am on a 5-year regimen of oral chemotherapy. I started this poem the first time I looked at myself nude in mirror after treatment (surgery and radiation) was done. My skin was burned. I had an ice cream scoop size chunk taken out of my right breast. And I wondered how in the world anyone would ever want to touch me again. I wrote the first draft then. And then I put it away and focused on healing.
A year and two months after the surgery, the surgical site suddenly developed a deep infection. I went into cellulitis and nearly ended up in the ICU. The infectious diseases doctor said the infection came from a mammogram, unskillfully given, which caused internal bleeding and then the infection. I had to have a drain inserted and I was on intense antibiotics for a few months. When the drain was put in, the right side of my breast collapsed.
When I was healed, I found myself back in front of the mirror, my breast there, but destroyed. Collapsed on the right side, and the nipple now facing to the right instead of forward. It is no longer responsive.
I was happy to be alive…twice. But horrified at my appearance. And I thought about the phrases “get lucky” and “I am lucky.” And so I got out the poem and wrote it again.
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great detail. I have my own writing space. I write on an antique teacher’s table from England, from the 1800’s. I am surrounded by artwork. And I write on a laptop.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? The first version was written in October of 2017. The final version was written in January of 2019.
How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? (And can you share a photograph of your rough drafts with pen markings on it?) Formally, I say there are two versions of this poem. But everything I write goes through at least 20 drafts. So it went through 20 drafts twice. I write directly on the computer, so I’m afraid I don’t have any pages with markings.
Were there any lines in any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? And can you share them with us? Well, obviously, the description of what I looked like changed. But I only keep one file of everything I write. I write subsequent drafts over old drafts. I don’t want to look backwards.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? To realize the full effect of breast cancer on the soul and psyche. Much has been written about the women who have full double mastectomies. But those of us who have partial or single mastectomies go through a lot as well. I actually had people tell me I had the “good cancer”, that I was “so lucky”. Nobody who has cancer feels lucky, and they shouldn’t be shamed into thinking so.
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why?
The description of my breast:
That sad breast
collapsed on one side
nipple pointing to the right
like a tattletale finger
areola no longer a pearl-pink halo
but a white ghost of what was
Has this poem been published before? And if so where This poem was featured as part of National Women’s Month on Al-Khemia Poetica in March 2019. Al-Khemia Poetica also nominated it for the Best Of The Net anthology published by Sundress Publications.
https://alkhemiapoetica.blogspot.com/2021/03/womens-history-month-thursday-march-18.html
It is also in my full-length collection of poetry, No Matter Which Way You Look, There Is More To See.
All Backstory of the Poem LIVE LINKS can be found at the very end of the below feature:
http://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2021/02/will-justice-drakes-intercession-is-251.html
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