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