It was Think Pink Day 2012 and I found myself in the office of a breast surgeon undergoing a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. It also happened to be 2 day before my 34 birthday. The following morning, the doctor's office called and asked me to come in, they have the results. With my best friend by my side, i am told that I have Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a very aggressive cancer and it is likely stage 3. After the room stoped spinning, I put on my brave face and sad, "Let's do this." The one hard part, would be telling my 9 year old son. He took it well, probably helped when I said he could draw on my head when I lost my hair, and to this day he is my hero. He has persevered and accelled through and at everything put before him during this difficult stretch.
I had to do chemo first, 4 rounds of AC and 12 of Taxol combined with Herceptin. Then came the mastectomy, followed by 38 radiation treatments. I heard the word remission in August of 2013. Great news!! However, that was tempered with the news of serious cardiac side effects from the Herceptin. What I can say, is at least I'm still here to deal with the side effects, much better than the alternative. I started reconstruction with DIEP flap in February 2014, now just working on the finishing touches. I don't know what the future holds for me, if/when it will come back. But, what I do know is that my life has been forever changed, mostly for the good. I cherish the little things, hug more often, make every day a memory, and try to make sure everyone in my life knows just how important they are.
Redding, CA