I had just started a new job when I found the lump in my breast. It was during my cycle so (being a nurse) I waited to see if anything would change. When it didn't, I decided to wait until the next cycle ended to see what happened. {Nurses are notorious for waiting things out}. Even though both of my grandmothers had breast cancer, I'm 37, I never thought it would actually be cancer. After much prodding from a friend who said she would go with me, I went. I'm so glad she did. I found out on 6/3/14 that it was breast cancer. My husband was on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic when I got the news.I was scheduled to leave for my mission trip to the DR on 6/9/14 and I felt that I really needed to go. That God was saying, "Take this time to process" and it was ok with my doc so I went. I am so glad I did. It was such a spiritual experience for me.
We have 3 little girls so we decided to wait until I returned from my trip on 6/18/14 to tell them. They were devastated. I had a double mastectomy on 6/20. I started chemo on 7/30/14. It took awhile for my Oncotype DX results to come back. In the study with % from 1-50, mine was 69% chance of recurrence in 10 years! My oncologist said he had never seen a number than high...guess it's my good genes :) The first treatment landed me in the ICU with a white blood cell count of 0.6 and a temp of 105.5! I was there for 5 days! I just had my second treatment yesterday. I'm not sure where this will all lead. But I know that God has shown me that no matter what, I will be ok. That I will be here for all of those firsts still yet to come with my girls. I am getting through this purely through God's strength. Without Him, I don't know how I could face all of this.
Statesboro, GA
