It was just over a month after my 35th birthday that I was getting ready for work, getting out of the shower and putting my bra on. I remember thinking that the right one felt different. Didn't really pay to much concern to it. About a week later, the right one felt a lot different. I worked as a medical assistant and knew in my heart that something wasn't right. My mom and stepdad had just moved from California to here about 6 months earlier, after he had some health issues. My mom had lived in California since I was about a year old. Long story short, I was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, had a right radical mastectomy. I tried for a bilateral mastectomy, but because of my age or what not, that didn't happen. Went through chemo, surgery, chemo and then radiation. My mother was here for me after all of those years in California, at the right time, and for the right reasons. Cancer is never a good thing, but I feel that some things happen for a reason. I am so thankful to have her back with me. I'm almost 8 years in remission, still on meds, still going strong, everyday thankful to get to be with her, and everyday is another chance to just live.

Karen
Burton, MI