I was training for a Figure Competition scheduled for June 2013 and planning my August wedding. And what better way to help me fit in my wedding dress then to train for a competition. It would be my Figure Pro debut. My training was intensive and my diet was very strict. I had been only competing for 1 years before earning a Pro Status in the industry. In February 2013, I dislocated my left shoulder while working out. Being the Occupational Therapist that I am, I popped it back in only to realize boy, that really hurt. So with the abrupt holt to my workout routine, I'm off to get an MRI of my shoulder. And in the same week I notice a lump in my right breast. I reached out to my OBGYN, had an ultrasound and was scheduled for a biopsy on Marathon Monday. We are all to familiar on how that day turned out. On the evening of April 16th my husband to be had just arrived home with our twin boys when I received the phone call from my OBGYN. I remember saying that was quick, because the doctors had told me it would take about 5 business days for the results. But, it was in that moment my OBGYN said, "It's not good, it's cancer". I went numb and screamed out a loud cry. I was the healthiest person I knew. Just 6 months prior I won 1st place and the overall in Figure at a National Physique Committee competition. So, on April 23, 2013 I had my lumpectomy at the age of 37. Now embarking on my road to recovery, I believe that my Figure competition training saved my life. With the love and support of my family, friends, co-workers and gym buds I survived 16 doses of chemo, got married wearing a fabulous Raquel Welch wig, worked out to maintain my sanity, played ice hockey, carted my twin boys off to soccer and ended the year with 33 radiation treatments. #Leavingitallbehindin2013. So get to it and have a good time in the meantime.

Kendall V. Smiley
Weymouth, MA