My fight began 5+ years ago (Aug/08) and wasn’t the big “C.”

It was the big “G” – called GRIEF.
It was the loss of our two beautiful daughters - ages 2 & 6.

May/13, thinking I was finally settling into a “new normal,” I found my lump.
Again, my life was in the valley!
Satan was attacking, but once again, I chose not to allow Satan to win and continued to lean into God and gain my strength from the even bigger “C” – CHRIST!

The month of June consisted of MANY appointments: mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsy . . . hearing the words “you have cancer,” to many scans and tests.
I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. The cancer had metastasized outside the lump and the lymphnodes.
I chose a bi-lateral mastectomy in July.
One month after surgery, I had a port inserted for blood work and chemo treatments. This was a great concept, yet my body didn’t like the invasion, so I had nine weeks of infections in that area.
The dreaded chemo started at the beginning of August and continued until the end of November. Six cycles in total. Two different drug changes, both rearing their own ugly heads of symptoms!

It has been a long journey!

January 2014, I started 16 rounds of radiation as well as a drug called Tamoxifen, which will be taken daily for the next 5-10 years.

We are truly blessed throughout this journey . . . so many people rallied to help us!
I am thankful for my oncologists and team!
My chances of the cancer returning will go from 55% down to 10% upon completion of radiation.

One beautiful gift was a cancer photoshoot!

Some of you may wonder why include a teddy bear in the shoot? I'm 43!

Well, Honeyfitz, has been everywhere with me – through grief, through cancer, to Africa on Mission Trips, on holidays – so it was only fitting that he was in some of the photos!

“Everything in life I share, except of course my teddy bear!”

Shauna Olsen
Olds, Canada