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a warrior agaist cancer

This year ive celebrated my 3yr survival from breast cancer. It was detected from my first mammogram at age 40, then 1yr later uterine cancer was detected. At that point i felt my life was over. Then my daughter told me she was pregnant,i then went into fighting mold. Its been a hard road but i made it. The doctors now have an idea why i got cancer so young and so close together. Its called " COWDEN SYNDROME" Its genetic. I have a strong support system from my husband,daughter, and my whole family. Im now 43 still going strong. I had cancer, cancer didn't have me.

natesa hill
detroit, MI

Breast Cancer at 33

My mom passed away in Aug of last year so I'd put on some weight. I let my bf & my sister feel my breast sayin "doesn't it feel like I've got milk" & really just over looked it. Til one day taking a bath I saw my n*pple was inverted so I called my ob/gyn & from there it was a whirl wind. Biopsy which said did have two places in my breast that was cancer. This was late Oct early Nov. I started chemo in Dec-April. My four kids were all I had too take care of me & everyday things because I just couldn't feeling so bad & at the end of April had my left breast removed. Then I did radiation from June-Aug. Now I'm 34 & cancer free!! I'll have the other breast removed after the new year & started reconstruction. Please never think its because you've put on weight. Had I waited any longer it could've been worse! Get checked ladies! Breast cancer doesn't run in my family. Thank you

melissa yarbrough
nashville, TN

Twenty years of success!

My wife has survived the past twenty years with stage IV, metastatic breast cancer. She started out shortly after her thirtieth birthday with a small tumor (7mm) in her right breast. Initially, Tamoxifen and other hormone related treatments worked while newer forms of treatments were developed. Several years later they discovered the HER2/neu gene and her treatments became more specifically oriented to combat this type of disease. In 2000 she opted for high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplant which gave us a few years of cancer free life. Herceptin (trastuzumab) seems to hold the key to her current success and after having participated in a phase 1 clinical trial for T-DM1 (the "T" stands for trastuzumab) & GDC-0941, the disease remains contained to this day. (I say this while keeping my fingers tightly crossed in the hope that this continues :¬)

As a side note; we discovered early on in the phase 1 trial that she was plagued with side effects that caused her to be constantly nauseated. Eventually this turned into anorexia and she found little, or no relief from standard antiemetic treatments. Out of desperation she tried cannabis, and she found immediate relief. I became a activist in order to provide access to patients like my wife who can benefit from this plant and eventually, a law was passed in our state to allow its use by seriously ill patients.

Her story is truly one of hope. Having spent so many years battling this horrible disease, one thing rings true to us; never give up hope! There have been several times that we have been faced with a dire prognosis, but maintaining a positive attitude has given us the stamina to move forward and to face the next round of treatments with enthusiasm...

Donald "Ted" Wright
Moultonborough, NH

Rachel Thornton

Hi, my name is Rachel Thornton.

I am 33 years old and It's been 4 months since I was diagnosed with invasive ductile carcinoma and I am so thankful to be on my way as a breast cancer survivor. My life will never be the same, but it's mine and it's a gift!

My lump was first detected during a self exam. I immediately scheduled an appointment with my primary care physician. Within one week I underwent many test and exactly seven days later I was diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer. My treatment plan was very aggressive which included chemotherapy a double mastectomy as well as radiation.

My prognosis is very good as I am doing all that my doctors are telling me to do.

Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in women, and is the leading cause of death in women younger than 50 in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

My biggest hope out of this whole experience is that I can spread the word, don't ignore any signs or symptoms. Early detection can save your life.

What I learned from this experience is that no matter how afraid you are, when something does not feel right to you, you need to go to the doctor. Your health is too valuable, and although the doctor might tell you something you don't want to hear, it is better to hear it now before it's too late to do something about it.

Rachel Thornton
Queen Creek, AZ

Check Your Breast Weekly

I'm 61 years old and I have been doing self breast checks since I was a teen. I know what my breast should feel like and when I found that little lump in my right breast, I couldn't believe it. I called my doctor right away and she had me come in that day. She checked my breast and sent me for a mammogram and an ultra sound. Sure enough, I had DCIS with 1% invasion.

The doctor didn't feel the lump that I felt, because it was so small, and I wasn't due for a mammogram for another 6 months. How invasive could it have become in 6 months. I am so thankful that my mother taught me in my teens to be very aware of my body and any changes.

My doctor then sent me to a surgeon, who also could not feel the lump, but the tests showed it was there. He performed a lumpectomy on me that week. Unfortunately the test did not come back with a 5mm clean edge, so he set me up for a mastectomy. Within a month, I had my mastectomy as well as my lymph nodes removed. That did test with a clean margin.

That was in April, 2013, and since we caught it so early, I only had to take hormone treatments instead of chemo and radiation. I have been a cancer survivor for 7 months and truly believe I have a long life ahead of me.

I'm telling this story because I want everyone who reads this to realize that self breast checks are so important to survival. If one person who reads this, saves their life by following my advice, then I am happy.

Toni Embry
Clarkson, KY

Keep Fighting

In late September of 2002 I woke in the middle of the night and felt a lump on my left breast. By Thanksgiving I found out I had stage IIIc breast cancer. I was a single mother of 4 children and 37 years old. After surgery and radiation I went back to raising my kids, but the cancer was not done with me. In 2007 I was diagnosed with a recurrence and again had surgery but this time did chemo. Again, after treatment, I went back to my life. In 2010 this disease reared it's ugly head again, but this time it spread. I was officially diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer and told I had 5 years left to live my life. During the last 3 1/2 years I have tried several different treatments that ultimately have failed. Today I begin a new chemotherapy treatment that we are praying will be successful and give me more time. The last eleven years I have seen my children graduate from high school and college, watched 3 of my children marry and seven months ago became a grandmother for the first time. I've also met and married the love of my life, reconnected with friends and loved ones, and traveled the world. Next year I have another grandchild due and will see my son marry his best friend. And in 2015 my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and we have plans to return to Italy where we spent our honeymoon. In the last 11 years I have faced pain and heartbreak and have been blessed with love and joy. But the most important thing is that I have lived and will continue to live my life until I take my last breath. I may not ultimately triumph over breast cancer, but I will not let it "take" my life, the life I've lived and whatever future life I will be blessed with.

Michelle Meyer
Saint Charles, MO

Chemo is completed!

I'm a 49 year old woman who was diagnosed 5/6/13 with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. I underwent a mastectomy on June 20th, had an expander placed during the surgery but that needed to be removed due to an infection. Needless to say it was a long summer, numerous doctor visits along with having a wound vac for 6 weeks, but it really helped. I started my chemo on 8/27 and am thrilled to say completed my last treatment yesterday! It's been a difficult journey that I couldn't have gotten through without my husband, two daughters, and my amazing friends! I will soon be a survivor!

Hope
Cranston, RI

Expedite healing with exercise!

At 43, I finally got around to having my very first mammogram. Prior to that, I had been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 5 continuous years, so had waited until I was past this phase of my life. I was not at all surprised when I was called back for additional imaging after my baseline mammogram; I was aware that the call-back rate is very high for baselines. But those microcalcifications that prompted my call-back then prompted a surgical biopsy. And the biopsy confirmed that I had a 4mm tumor of invasive cancer and extensive DCIS in one breast. As the mother of 2 young children, it was not difficult to jump to the decision of a unilateral mastectomy, which I had promptly. My cancer was caught early, and did not have a chance to metastasize. I was able to begin reconstruction at the same time as my mastectomy. I was so fortunate.

I have been a runner for 20+ years, and just months before my diagnosis, I had registered for my first half marathon, which was scheduled for 5 weeks after my surgery. The race became a physical and emotional goal that gave me hope. I ran right up until the day before my surgery, took the recommended time off to heal, and then started running again the very day that my plastic surgeon gave me the okay -- 10 days before the race! I showed up on race day. I ran. I finished. And I survived. I survived.

Anonymous
Boston, MA

a mothers love knows no boundries

I am 33 yrs old...and fighting for my life...I FOUND OUT I HAD BREAST CANCER IN 2011..AT THE SAME TIME I FOUND OUT I WAS PREGO..I DECIDED TO NOT HAVE CHEMO AT THAT TIME..I HAD A HEALTHY BABY BOY...SOON AFTER HE WAS BORN I went though chemo and THEY FOUND THAT MY CANCER HAD SPREAD to my brain at witch time they said there was nothing more they could do for me because the tumors were too big they found seven tumors total AND LABELED ME TERMINALLY ill THEY TOLD ME I HAD A YEAR TO SIX MONTHS TO LIVE....SO I STOPPED CHEMO..against recomandations of my care providers...doing that I belive it has allowed me to surpass the time I was given..I wake up everyday fighting for my life..taking care of my beautiful children the best I can...I am thankful for all the support I have gotton from friends and family

Reese morris
Schenectady, NY

Never too young to get breast cancer!

Just before Christmas in December 2012 i felt a hard lump in my right breast, so i decided to go to my GP to get it checked out. After an ultrasound & a few biopsies it was confirmed to be an invasive ductal carcinoma....breast cancer! I was 28 years old and never expected that! No-one in my family has ever had any type of cancer. And i later found out that i tested negative for the BRCA genes.
6 days later, on my 29th birthday i had surgery to remove the lump, yes on my birthday! It was even in the exact same hospital i was born in!
The day after surgery i had a ct scan & a full body bone scan. Thankfully they were both all clear. My surgeon came into my hospital room to tell me the results of surgery. It was just under a 2cm lump. Estrogen & progesterone positive, HER2 negative. Grade 2. She took 4 lymph nodes out and only 1, the first 1 was microscopically infected with a couple of cancer cells. It was determined to be stage 1b. After a couple of weeks i started chemo x4 which i actually found to be ok...i was only a little bit tired after each treatment. Lost all my long hair which wasn't fun. After that i was due to start radiation, but i decided to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction instead. So i didn't have to have radiation as i had the mastectomy. It's now almost been a year in December 2013 and I'm going really well. Back to feeling great & I'm living a happy life! It certainly has changed my life completely. It's been the hardest year of my life but i did it! I'm very proud of myself.

Anonymous
Bendigo, Australia