We all deserve to have a beautiful life

I´m a 33 year old Colombian and my story began last year on July 09 . I was diagnosed with a uncertain behavior tumor (possibly cancerous) on my right breast and doctors were so afraid because my mom died 11 years ago because of breast cancer and the genetic component is important, that´s why they suggested a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy because I didn´t accept to submit to the chemotherapy. My breasts were removed on January and I was reconstructed with implants and bilateral dorsal muscle flap. Unfortunately, my body rejects the implants and I got an infection with a bacteria called staphylococcus aureus that causes a capsular contraction, one month ago the implants were removed and now I have nothing than my skin and muscles in my chest. I have to wait for a year at least to have a new reconstruction. Today I´m a better person, I learned to look at me in a different way, to look at myself as a great person no matter how everyone else see me. I´m eating healthier and I´m taking all good moments with the people around me. We all deserve to have a beautiful life no matter if you have big or small breasts, if you are black or white, tall or short, thin or fat...all that counts is what you have in your mind and in your heart and the way you live your own life. WE ARE ALL FIGHTERS AND WE DESERVE TO LIVE BETTER.
In loving memory of my MOM...

Support and encouragement make a difference...

Thank you Trish for sharing your story with us. Congratulations on being CANCER FREE! Celebrating life is what it is all about.

Bless you,
Amy

My name is Trish and this week, I am one year cancer free. I was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in April, 2009. On May 7, 2009, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy with a TRAM flap reconstructive surgery. Six weeks later I started my journey through eight chemotherapy treatments at Duke University in Durham, NC. With those treatments came the hair loss, weakness, and severe bone pain. My husband, four children, other family members and friends were right by my side through the entire journey, lifting me up and continuously encouraging me. I could not have made it without them. My hair grew back very slowly, but finally, on May 31, 2010, I took off my wig and am now celebrating a life free of cancer.

Even after reconstruction...get your mammograms

Robin,

Thank you so much for sharing this information with the other survivors out there that might be thinking they no long need a mammogram. No matter your age or what type of reconstruction you've had, yearly mammograms and visits to your doctor are so important. I hope and pray that your mother is feeling better. I'm sure that this has been very difficult for her and your family. We'll be keeping you all in our prayers.

Amy

My mother had a double mastectomy 30 years ago. She never really thought about herself, she was always taking care of everyone else. So she hasn't had a mammogram in 8 years. Well, she has been feeling sick for a while. She aches and has no energy, it's just hard to get up and go. She thought since she's going to be sixty this year it was her age. Last week she went to the Doctor and found out that both implants have busted open (who knows when) and now she has polyps all over her insides and will have to go through at least one surgery to remove the implants (which will not be replaced) and clean the mess in side of her. So everyone please keep your appointments for your mammogram's.
Robin

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"

Kristy, 37 y.o. Stage II, Thankful for modern medicine!

Kristy,

Thanks for sharing your story. I feel blessed, as well, that there are so many treatment options nowadays!

I have 3 daughters, and a mom and sister whom I worry about so much. It's what the pink ribbon campaign is all about ... promoting awareness, early detection, and ultimately finding a cure!

Thanks again,
Kim

I'm a survivor!
My name is Kristy, I'm 37 and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on 8/8/08. On 8/15/08, I had a mastectomy of my left breast. I went through 4 session of chemotherapy, am currently receiving 52 treatments of Herceptin and will soon begin my 5 year stint of Tamoxifen. I'm currently awaiting my reconstruction surgery. I have a wonderful support system and truly feel blessed that my cancer was found at a time when we have so many different therapies available. I've been and will continue to be active in American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I was captain of a Relay for Life team and will be walking in the 3 day Susan G. Komen walk in San Francisco this year. I will do all that I can to help raise money for finding a cure for breast cancer. I DO NOT want my 10 year old daughter to go through what I have.

Casey, 32-y.o. Stage IV, "Cancer Free"

Casey had the full array of treatments for her stage IV breast cancer, although the lung biopsy proved inconclusive. Here's hoping that the questionable lung area was just a shadow, or the like!

This is mine –

I’m a one year (and counting!) stage IV breast cancer survivor… that began w/ a routine doctor’s appointment. I gave birth to my second son in September 2007 and four months later, almost to the day, was diagnosed. I was 32 years old and not completely surprised, given the fact my grandmother passed away from “breast cancer” at age 52 (as a 2 time survivor.) At the time of my biopsy of lumps in both breasts and left side lymph node, I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. But I wasn’t at all prepared for the news that the cancer had most likely spread to my lung. The lung biopsy was inconclusive due to the location of the questionable areas. We proceeded as if I had metastatic breast cancer to the lymph nodes and lung. I did the whole kit and caboodle of treatments: first, chemo, then a bilateral mastectomy w/ expanders, radiation, reconstruction surgery, and lastly, a full hysterectomy as I am positive for the BRCA II gene.

During the second opinion clinic where I found out about the suspicious spots on my lung, I let myself wallow in self pity for about 10 minutes… my biggest feat, so I thought, would be losing my hair and as everyone tells you, it does grow back! God cleared this path for me for a reason and I couldn’t change my circumstances – so, I moved on and ahead! And my biggest feat wasn’t losing my hair, but rather dealing w/ a new status of having a “pre-existing” breast cancer diagnosis and finding decent affordable healthcare coverage as a wife of someone self-employed. And that’s not so bad considering what I’ve been through over the last year and a half! I’m a very open and positive person who puts all her concentration on her two sons (and husband) and living life in every sense of the word! J I am truly blessed in so many ways!

Today, I am cancer free. I owe it to a fantastic medical team, supportive friends and family, prayer and positive thinking, and the drug Herceptin!

Best wishes to those who share a similar story,

Casey Martinez

Survivor Story, Clair J.O.

Thanks for sharing, Clair! Sadly, I've heard many stories of mis-diagnosis. My original weblog chronicles my journey through first thinking that my cancer was back, being told it wasn't, then discovering that it really was! It is so important that women stay on top of their own healthcare. So glad you mentioned the discharge to the physician's assistant.

Sorry to hear that you've had such a painful journey. But it's no coincidence that you are now being placed in people's paths who need advice or just to talk. God has a way of working these things out!

In June, I had a mammogram and was told that all was well. Four short months later in October when I visited my family doctor's office because of bronchitis, I mentioned to the (female) Physician's Assistant that I had noticed a nipple discharge. I probably would not have even mentioned it to my (male) doctor, but I thought maybe I had an infection or something minor. After all, I had gone through a recent mammogram and hadn't noticed any lumps.

I soon learned that no lumps did not mean no cancer, and a poorly read mammogram radically changed my life. My oncologist pointed out the cancer on the mammogram film--even my untrained eye could see it. Sadly, the trained eyes that had read the results four months earlier had missed it.That was eight years ago. Since the cancer was spread through the ducts, with no lump to singularly remove, I underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction. Then I developed painful internal scarring and fought with that for the next seven years--pain pills, steroid shots, nerve blockers, even Theragesic--all were futile attempts to deaden the pain.

My arm movement has been limited due to the capsular contracture, and as a college professor, I had to adapt my classroom teaching style since writing on the board was no longer feasible. I also had to learn to cover the pain since when it felt like a hot sword was piercing my right breast and I grimaced in class, concerned students would ask what was wrong. I couldn't very well tell them, "My boob hurts." Times may have changed but not that much!While I did not go through any radiation or chemotherapy, I endured pain. I underwent surgery again last month, and the doctor removed extensive scar tissue, so I'm on the mend again and now fighting an implant infection. I am determined that this time I will heal and not deal with constant pain for the rest of my life.

I have often wondered, why me? Then, as students noticed the pink ribbons and the links on our class websites where they could click to help provide mammograms, they made connections. One young man confided in me that his mother was battling breast cancer, and I provided him with some information that might help him cope, along with some connections that might help his mother. Then another student came in, crying. Her mother had just been diagnosed. The family wasn't happy with the doctor she was seeing, and I gave her the number for my doctor and the number for Hope Lodge. Still another student came in, only this time she was the one waiting on the results after a scary mammogram. I volunteer every year at the Komen Race for the Cure--nothing major, just handing out pink t- shirts to other survivors. We are a growing group, but I pray I see the day that breast cancer is eradicated and no longer a threat.Education takes place in many ways. While my principal role as an educator focuses on English and Literature in the college classroom, I have another side role--to pass on what I can when students are dealing with breast cancer in their families. For some, simply knowing that I went through it and beat it is enough to give them hope.

Clair J.O.