At the age of 24 I completed a simple breast self exam during my 30th week of pregnancy, and found a lump. My thoughts were that it was just something as simple as a plugged milk duct or something pregnancy related, but I did not hesitate to inform my nurse practitioner at my prenatal visit the following day. I was scheduled for an ultrasound, and since the radiologist was unsure I was scheduled for a biopsy. I was terrified and just knew during the biopsy that things weren't going to turn out the way I expected. Sure enough I received a phone call on the way home from my first final exam in my jr year of nursing school saying that the biopsy showed stage II invasive ductal carcinoma triple negative breast cancer. My treatment began as soon as possible, and I completed two rounds of chemotherapy while I was still pregnant. I was always concerned about the well-being of my unborn son, but was completely filled with joy and unconditional love the moment I laid eyes on his completely healthy beautiful self once he was born! My treatment consisted of four rounds of Adriamycin and Cytoxan, four rounds of Taxotere and Carboplatin, lumpectomy, and radiation therapy. My journey had many tough days, but during those tough days it was God and my son who gave me the motivation to keep going. I decided that I needed to allow my faith to lead my journey and not allow fear to take over. Once I said yes to faith and no to fear I was able to tackle each tough situation in my journey like a champ. I spent Dec 2013-Oct 2014 coping with breast cancer and all that came with it, but I made it out victorious! As of June 11, 2014 I am cancer free, and now I am embracing my calling of helping women currently fighting breast cancer and raising awareness so that women and men are able to have early detection and higher rates of survival. Everyday as a survivor with my son is a blessing!

Katherine Spradley
Indianapolis, IN