Hi Gina,

The dating thing must be really tough. I have a friend who was in her late forties and started dating using the online personals shortly after being treated for breast cancer (she had a mastectomy) and she went through a lot of mental anguish about when she should tell someone she met, or had gotten to know a little on the phone and on email but hadn't met yet, that she had had breast cancer and only had one breast (she opted not to have surgical reconstruction from the mastectomy--she's always been fairly flat chested anyway--and so it isn't like it's immediately obvious if she's wearing a loose blouse or sweater or soemthing).

Anyway, she pretty much decided to tell men about it fairly soon if they were showing interest just ebcause she wanted to give them the option to run off if they couldn't handle it before she got too involved. But she's found several men who COULD handle it, more than she thought there would be out there and you may find the same as time goes on. You'll probably also find men out there who have their own medical problems they are worried about disclosing. If you want to date, I'd say don't let your medical history keep you from trying to find someone to share your life with. But also, don't let any well-meaning friend tell you you aren't "living fully" if you just aren't in the mood to date right now --that's also your business.
Nelie