My story starts over 2 years ago, although I was most likely chosen at an early age because my mom had a bilateral mastectomy when she was in her forties. I am 1 of 7 children, and couldn't understand why cancer had chosen me, not that I wished it on any of my siblings. My husband and I took the news in February of 2012 very hard, especially in the beginning when you have so many questions and concerns. After many ultrasounds, biopsies, bone scan, and tested to see if I carried the positive gene(I didn't, thankfully), it was determined I had breast cancer in my left breast, and it had to be removed. The decision was given to me whether I wanted to do the left only, or a bilateral mastectomy. All the emotions that led up to that point wasn't something I desired to go through again. I researched how often women will find cancer in the other breast, and decided I needed to do it all at the same time. I was fortunate that it hadn't spread to my lymph nodes. I honestly don't look at myself as I do other women who had to endure radiation and/or chemo. I am truly one of the lucky ones in that sense, but we are all lucky to be able to share our survivor stories. I was able to start my reconstruction immediately after surgery, and was done in about a year; tattoos and all! As I look back on my experience, I now know why I was chosen, and that is because of my inner strength. I will never forget the support I received from my peers at work, family, and friends. I can speak freely of my experience, and if it helps save a life, awesome! The hardest part is getting through these first five years, and hope I don't have any major side affects from the tamoxifen I take daily. I like to think I have a great network of doctors that helped me make the right decisions for me. Thank you.

Lulie Thurlow
Wallingford, CT