My mom lost her battle with metastatic breast cancer on October 3rd, 2009. It has been almost a year without her and I would like to honor her by posting her story. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2001. She had a biopsy and a mastectomy in early 2002. She had chemotheraphy, but was not permitted to have radiation as she had a heart condition. My mom went into remission for 4.5 years. We were praying that she would make it to 5 years because then she would be able to get the heart transplant she desperately needed. Unfourtunately that wasn't the case. She found another lump in her left breast in May 2006 and soon found that the breast cancer had metastisized and had developed to Stage 4. The doctors gave her a 2 year prognosis. The cancer eventually traveled to her lungs and finally her liver. She received numerous pleural effusions, but eventually the fluid was building up so fast, it just couldn't be stopped. She lived a year more than the doctors expected. She was a fighter and an inspiration to her family, friends, and myself. The picture I have shared of her and I is from my wedding, nearly one year exactly from her passing. She is the reason why I click.

Holly Z
Buffalo, NY