My Story

Once upon a time, there was a woman who did everything she was supposed to. She ate right (in fact she was a vegetarian), she maintained a healthy weight, she did not smoke or drink, she did a LOT of exercise, and she got her checkups and shots on time. Yet, she still ended up with with cancer.
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 I had my first brush with breast cancer in March of 2004. After a mammogram, I was told I had multiple calcifications in my left breast. I was 43 years old with no family history of breast cancer. My diagnosis was Stage 0 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). 

Once I recovered from a lumpectomy, I had standard radiation therapy. I continued diagnostic mammograms every 6 months for 5 years after treatment ended and continued annual screening mammograms after that As scary as the cancer diagnosis was, this episode eventually receded into the past.

 My second brush with. breast cancer came in July, 2018. This cancer is much more serious than 14 years ago and has changed my life.

 This time, a PET-CT scan showed a tumor in the left breast again, but in a different location than before, as well as cancerous lesions in the bone along my spine. The scan showed metastasis. A biopsy (of the bone) told us it was triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). I now had Stage IV of the most difficult breast cancer to treat.

 Today, I continue to undergo chemotherapy (chemo) to find the one or more drugs that will hold off further cancer progression. It has become a waiting game to see which wins day by day - the cancer or the drug(s).

 If your breast cancer was found in the early stages, congratulations. You have every right to be optimistic and look forward to a future free of that breast cancer. The medical experts have multiple and effective options to offer you.

 Breast cancer is a range of different cancers with different outcomes and treatments. What worked for an aunt, a mother, a sister, or a friend may or may not work for others. And that's difficult to understand. 

 Metastatic cancer of any kind is considered a chronic illness. It's taken me a long time to truly understand that I will never be cancer free. I have hope that my wonderful oncologist will find something to keep me going. I refuse to give in or give up. I also choose to keep a positive attitude. If there's a chance that 1 person in 100 can stop their cancer from growing any further, I want and intend that person to be me.

This fight is personal.

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