Luckily for me, these changes are not a dreaded sign of my slow and certain demise, but rather the gentle hands of time marking my face and body with experience, adventure, and wisdom. Reminders that the face I once thought I would always have will inevitably soften and sag and that’s just the way it’s going to be. But a few weeks ago I found a lump in the side of my left breast, and for the first time, I felt mortality wave its hand in my face.