I was 34 when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2012. My doctor told me to get a mammogram when I turned 35. So in July, I had a mammogram. Soon after, I had an ultrasound and biopsy, then was diagnosed with breast cancer in September, just six months after my mom’s diagnosis. I remember telling my mom about my diagnosis while she still had drainage tubes from her double mastectomy. I was originally diagnosed with stage 0 DCIS and opted for a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Once in surgery, the doctors discovered my cancer had spread to the lymph nodes. This changed everything. I was now diagnosed with stage 2A breast cancer. I did not get immediate reconstruction and chemotherapy was necessary. I was devastated because I saw my mom go through chemotherapy and understood the effects of it, but I became a fighter. A fighter for myself, my husband and my two little girls, both under 5 years old. I underwent chemo from January to April 2013 and will finish Herceptin treatments in January 2014. I've had two reconstructive surgeries and have at least two more to go. The past two years have been tough, but my mom and I are both survivors. I truly believe I'm alive today because of my mom's diagnosis. Had she not been diagnosed with breast cancer, I would not have had a mammogram, and would have discovered my breast cancer at a much later stage. Her diagnosis is the reason I am alive. She is my guardian angel.

Tammy Seabolt
Covington, GA