My name is Dotty Early. I am 55-years-old and decided to have a gastric bypass back in 2003. After attending all the meetings, having all the tests that are required, I was approved to have the surgery on May 24, 2004.

At the time, I was 54-years-old and concerned that maybe I was too old to have the surgery, but I thought I needed to do this. The day they wheeled me into the operating room I weighed 284 pounds.

I have been on a diet since I was 12-years-old. You name it, I was on it. I lost weight and then gained it back and then some. I grew up in the era where you could go to any doctor and he would give you diet pills. I did that for many years and then I did the many popular diet programs available. I got to a point in my life where I was tired of dieting and tired of making all these places rich because I just kept gaining weight.

I had a heart attack in 1993 and fortunately that worked out, but then I was on heart medication but my weight was still out of control. I was taking cholesterol medication for about 15 years. It got to a point that I could barely walk any more. My husband was doing the laundry, going to the grocery store etc. I had a full time job and a very demanding job and I knew in my mind my weight for the first time in my life was starting to hold me back. I weighed 284 and it was soon to be 300 and I knew I was not going to go to work with a walker so I had to make a decision about what I was going to do.

I began doing the research of the gastric bypass surgery. After the surgery, I went through the typical ‘what have I done,’ but I remained focused on the reason why I decided to do this and that was because I could hardly walk anymore and I felt like a burden to those around me.

It took a good solid two months, and then some, before I started feeling like myself. Then in October 2004 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I could not believe it, all in the same year. I had surgery on November 4, 2004 and then in December I began the Chemo treatments followed by seven full weeks of radiation. I finished my radiation the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Of course, my cancer doctors were saying do not lose weight, but what do you do? I really paid close attention to what I was eating and made sure I ate just to keep my strength up.

After all that, I am happy to report that I now weigh 130 pounds and bought my first pair of jeans which were a size 7/8. I cannot believe it. I am cancer free right now, thank goodness and I feel and look wonderful. I no longer am on heart medication or cholesterol medication and I can walk and live again. Through the years, I only kidded myself by not thinking my weight was holding me back. I can dance now and my job is still as demanding if not more and I am handling it better than I ever did thanks to the surgery and a wonderful doctor.

As I reflect back, you never know if they would have found the cancer if I had not been losing weight, but I am glad they did find it and I could take care of it. I recommend, before anyone decides to have the surgery to do plenty of research, talk to people about it that have had the surgery, join a support group and remain focused and also write down why you decided to have the surgery so when you get discouraged you can reflect back as to why you decided to have the surgery.

It is amazing how your outlook and personality changes when you start feeling good about yourself and you cannot forget about all those wonderful compliments that people now give. It may be my imagination, but I have also noticed that people talk to you differently and treat you differently. You will always run into those people who are not well versed on the surgery and will make their comments, but when anyone asks me how I lost the weight, I have no problem telling them that I had gastric bypass. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell about my long journey to being healthy.