Glad to be here...

Thank you Kim for inviting me to be a guest writer on your blog. My name is Amy. I am 34 years old and a 3 year breast cancer survivor. I have been married for 11 years and have two little girls, 5 and 7. I work part time here at the Pink Ribbon Shop and do a little bit of everything. I started working at here December 13, 2006. Why do I know the exact date? It was the day before I found out that I too was about to be a breast cancer survivor.

I had an appointment scheduled after my first day of work. I had found a lump over the weekend in my right breast and wanted to get it checked out by my doctor. I remember asking Kim to share her survivor story with me and then told her that I would be seeing the doctor that afternoon. She was very concerned. I was really not that worried. I thought it was just a cyst. I had no family history. At my appointment, my doctor was not very concerned but thought that we should schedule a mammogram for the next morning. So, I went by myself that morning for the mammogram and waited to get dressed and go home. The nurse called me back and said that the radiologist wanted to talk to me. I walked in and looked at the films on the wall and saw a golf ball size lump on the film. He held my hand and told me that I needed to meet with a surgeon as soon as possible and get this taken out of my body. I went upstairs to my OBGYN's office to get a referral to a surgeon. I walked into her office and she was crying. The radiologist had called her and told her my news. I asked her if he thought it was cancer. She said, "Unfortunately, he is almost never wrong." I had her call my husband and I met him at the surgeon's office. A mastectomy was recommended because of the size of the tumor. December 22, 2006 I had my mastectomy. I had DCIS and invasive cancer in my right breast. I was Stage2B. Praise God that I did not have lymph node involvement. I did have 4 rounds of chemo and did reconstructive surgery about a year after that. I am doing well now and I am on Tamoxifen Therapy. I have 2 1/2 more years of that.

I truly believe that I was meant to meet Kim. She was so supportive of me and was a blessing to me during my treatment. She provided me with so much hope. God had this all in his plans. Kim and I began a local support group for women with cancer a few years ago. We meet once a month and want people to know that they are not alone in their journey with cancer.

I would have never imagined that cancer would be a blessing in my life, but it has been. It has taught me how to live and appreciate everyday that I have with my family and friends. I look forward to hearing all of your stories. I believe that is hope we cope, heal and have hope!