I want to start off by saying that only you know your body. If you think something's wrong, it probably is! Ignoring it is not the answer!!
In 2011, I found out I was pregnant for the second time. When I went to the gynecologist for my first checkup, I voiced my fears over a lump in my right breast that had seemed to grow bigger at an alarming rate, and after looking it over, she decided it probably wasn't a big deal, probably just pregnancy hormones. To ease my fears she made me an appointment to have it biopsied. Little did I know, my life was REALLY about to change.
Long story short, it was malignant. Here I was, 23 and 27 weeks pregnant with stage 3 HER 2+ breast cancer. Chemo began immediately. Every two weeks until I was 36 weeks pregnant. My daughter took chemo treatments while in my womb. Yet I never got sick, not once. Just lost my hair and tired all the time. On June 9, 2011, my angel Faith Mackenzie was born. A little on the small side, and bald as I was, but otherwise perfectly healthy.
Four chemos later, on October 6, 2011 I had a double mastectomy with removal of some lymph nodes under my right arm. After that surgery I was given the diagnosis of cancer free!!! 3 months of radiation followed, which compared to chemo was pure hell!!
After all this, 3 years later, I realize that I am very blessed. That a lot of this could have been avoided had I not ignored the signs. At first, I was depressed and had body image issues but with the help of awesome friends and family I am now able to share my story. God won't lead you to anything you can't handle, every problem in life is a lesson, and behind every dark cloud is a rainbow because I may have gotten sick, lost my hair and my breasts (and for a while my sanity too), I gained one of the two greatest gifts I've ever received, my daughter.
selma, AL