Lena, 9-Year Survivor Diagnosed at Age 29

Lena,

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm sure it will inspire other young survivors to continue living life to the fullest.

Kim

I guess you could say it all began in the early winter month of November 2000 when I found a lump in my right breast. Thinking it would be just a routine benign tumor(had already had one removed 10 years prior), I scheduled an appointment with my regular doctor. After an ultrasound and a biopsy confirmed the opposite of what was expected, I entered a new phase in my life-the world of Stage II Breast Cancer. I was only 29 at the time, with no immediate family history of this disease. My tumor was a fast growing one-it was as if it had developed overnight. But I have always done self-examinations since an awareness was always a part of my life. I immediately had a lumpectomy and lymph nodes removed. My goal was to get rid of it ASAP. Thus began my journey into the treatment of Chemotherapy that I had only read of in books and seen in the movies. I was sick most of the time, my long, shoulder-length hair disappeared, and the only thing that lifted my spirits were my true friends who didn't stay away for fear of contagion or lack of words to say. But most of all, my 4yr old daughter kept me adamant and strong in my fight to beat this thing. I wrapped up my treatments mid-summer that year and decided to pursue a life that would not ever be taken for granted. My joys and dreams and energy was put into being the best mom I could be for my daughter as a single parent. I also had a network of 6 friends-all survivors too. We shared the same faith, same strength, same compassion for each other. And we always shared our feelings with many tears and quiet moments-because sometimes there were no words to describe what we were going through. But then, in 2002, my small circle of friends began to lose their battle due to recurrences and metastases........my own recurrence befell me in the month of July of 2002. One of my friends was even hospitalized with me on the same floor. Because I no longer wanted the worry of always looking over my shoulders at this deadly disease, I opted for a mastectomy.......sadly, my friend no longer had that option-hers had already spread to her spine, bones, and eventually her brain. She succumbed in November of that year. But her positive spirit and the boldness she displayed(even taking a trip to Switzerland that year!) gave me the courage to keep fighting. Several more of my friends lost their battle that year and in 2003, but I am happy to say that my memories of the good times we shared will always stay in my heart. I completed more Chemo in 2003 with about 5 or 6 surgical procedures(including three failed medi-port implants). My daughter graduated Kindergarten and in '04 I opted for reconstructive surgery-I didn't want to have to replace the prosthesis my daughter had accidentally damaged while playing with it one day.....I decided after all was said and done, 2004 would be a year of change for me. I moved to Florida and began a new year with my cancer in remission. I am happy to say that 2004 was indeed a year of change-for the better! I married a wonderful, caring man, and we have now settled comfortably near where I have always dreamed of living-right near the ocean. I still have my appointments, I still have my days of the long term aftereffects of chemo, like brain fog, and chronic bouts of pain, but I am happy. And its good to know that any survivor of breast cancer is a fighter, united with others who, as a sisterhood share a common bond.

Lena


"LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS, IT'S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN"