October 2006 I sustained a compete left-sided stroke. By time I got to the hospital, I went through many scans. They discovered that I also had aggressive left breast invasive lobular cancer.

I spent one month in the hospital and eventually left with the use of a cane. I had a completely numb left leg, loss of sensation on the left side, from head to toe. I continued speech, physical, and occupational therapy on an out-patient basis.

Then I had to deal with the cancer. I underwent 4 separate sessions of chemotherapy, the last one being the worst. I had every side effect imaginable. My husband was there for me every step of the way. The large tumor was not shrinking as doctors would have liked, so, I underwent mastectomy. I then underwent 33 sessions of radiation therapy. Because my lymph nodes were removed, I ended up with lymphedema and I have to wear a compression sleeve on my left arm. When I lost my hair, my husband shaved his head. My brother did as well. I could never have reconstruction because of the extensive damage from the cancer to the muscle tissue in my chest.

I now walk without my cane. I began driving again, even with my left-side impairment. On New Years Eve day 2009, a young individual ran his truck smack into my car; airbags went off and I had to be pried out of my car. I was hospitalized for 2 nights with nine fractured ribs. No fun; however, I got the courage to pick up and drive again. Again, my family was there for me. It took a while but I am comfortable and confident of my driving, all over again.

My children, husband, and family were so supportive of me. I learned that I was not alone.

It is now six years since my diagnosis. The picture I submitted shows a pink and white necklace that my friend made for me. It matches the blouse I wore. She made many others for me. There is so much more that I could say.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer, originally Stage I but progressed to Stage III after a lumpectomy did not produce clear margins, so was followed by a masectomy, chemo, radiotherapy and I am now on Tamoxoifen.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma when I was 17 and had 8 cycles of gruelling chemo for that but I was still not prepared how the chemo made me feel this time round. I can only say, just focus one day at a time and fight it with your head too.

I was told after my first illness that the chemo would prevent me from having children, I went on to have a son who is now 17 and both him and my husband have supported me every step of the way. My family and friends have also been amazing.

The two illnesses are not connected, just one of those things.

I know that not everyone is lucky enough to have the support I did, if you don't, then please use any support networks you can, the support websites can be an absolute godsend.

Trudi

https://www.dropbox.com/s/347wr91fqfa1lkb/Annete%20Poem%20Video%20-%20032913%20-%20Phone.mp4

I dedicate my Journey and my Story to my children. i was diagnosed in July 2012 and I am done chemo----I am a breast Cancer survivor

well here goes. Oct 2012 I found a large lump in my right breast. with in weeks they told me it was cancer. total removal in December and chemo started in January. I am about to do my last chemo treatment and they want to check the left breast again. there are 4 non cancerous lumps there. am really scared that they will come back changed. I have a wonderful support system friends my sons , my boyfriend and my dad. lost my mom last year so 2012 will not be my fav year. but I keep strong , my faith is firm, my mom watch's over me I know it. if I can do it we all can. keep the faith and be strong everyone. there is so much to live for.

On October 31, 2009, just 5 months after earning my Masters, receiving a proposal for marriage, and looking forward to planning a wedding, and 1 month after running my first marathon, I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. What a way to rain on my parade! I found the lump myself and my doctor referred me for a mammogram and ultrasound which both failed to find anything. Great! I'm in the clear, I thought, and quickly cancelled the appointment with the surgeon that my doctor had also scheduled for me. Luckily, I called back a few weeks later to ask if I was actually supposed to go through with that appointment. Yes, I was. I was then referred for an MRI which ended up saving my life. The MRI found two lumps which later turned out to be one 4 cm tumor in my left breast. The cancer was invasive (aka malignant), aggressive, and needed to be removed. Three weeks later, a few days before Thanksgiving, I had a mastectomy on my left breast. The surgeon informed me that they found 3 (which later turned out to be 6) lymph nodes positive for cancer so they removed all of them.

I termed the following year, 2010, as "The Year of Living Cancerously.” I endured 6 months of chemotherapy, 21 days of radiation, 52 weeks of "Herceptin" treatments, reconstructive surgeries, and the death of a courageous friend with cancer, to emerge as a somewhat stronger and very grateful survivor of cancer.

I was diagnosed at age 31 while pregnant with my son. With no history of breast cancer in my family the diagnosis was shocking. It was a time of joy and sorrow. I had always wanted to be a mom. Would I get to walk my son into school his first day of Kindergarten? See his first steps? Would he even remember me? Would anyone ever tell him how much mommy loves him and how much she always wanted him? I was stage 3 most aggressive per pathology hormone negative with positive lymph nodes. Treatment was grueling. My marriage, relationships, and faith were tested. Instead of searching for answers I began building hope. Prayers were answered each time I had a check up. Cancer was going away. But setbacks continued including being told I was not able to have anymore kids and being hospitalized for infections that could have killed me. After 10 months of chemo, surgery, and radiation I appeared to be cured. It was a waiting game until I hit 4 yrs. Then I found out I was pregnant with my beautiful daughter! Now my son is 10 1/2 and my daughter is 6. I am a Pink Warrior. I carry that title with pride and dignity. Please know to never give up hope. Don't listen to statistics. You are not a statistic! You are a mother, daughter, wife, sister, niece, friend, co worker. You are a fighter!!!!!

My daughter Dottie got this diagnosis ,and from that moment she said, it was all ok," I will beat this"

I am not sure where the strength comes from so quickly, but she has IT

Undeterred by the sick feeling of only her second chem treatment, she battles on, with that beautiful smile.

She is making us all FEEL her strength!

Amazing !

At the age of 36, I was diagnosed on 10/18/12 with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I had a double mastectomy w/reconstruction in Dec. Started my 24 weeks of chemo in Jan. I have 8 more to go and I’m feeling better everyday.

• MY JOURNEY began with a huge discovery of a small lump on a Sept morning.

• The first step in MY JOURNEY was undergoing tests and hearing the words “the lump came back as cancer” come from a doctor’s mouth.

• Within the months of Oct & Nov MY JOURNEY was packed with meeting my doctors and learning about my breast cancer.

• There were countless questions I asked and answers to absorb next on MY JOURNEY.

• MY JOURNEY then took me to the decision that my “angry” tumor needed immediate removal.

• The month of Dec was the huge step in MY JOURNEY of having a bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery followed by weeks of recovery.

• The New Year brought the next step in MY JOURNEY of 6 months of chemo & filling in my expanders.

• For the first half of chemo MY JOURNEY was a daily battle to stay positive and strong when everything in my body became weak.

• MY JOURNEY was filled with sickness, hair loss, pain, fatigue and many other symptoms that landed me back in the hospital to help my body recoup.

• The second half of chemo brought MY JOURNEY to more positive days ahead with my body feeling better every day.

I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer in June of 2011. It was a stage 3 and a very rare type of breast Cancer, which means it was a mass and could spread very quickly. Everything happened so fast, chemo, removal of my right breast, radiation and more chemo. I was never so scared in all my life. My family and friends helped me get through it and are still helping to this day. Living one day at a time and still going for checkups every 3 months. I am thankful to be here today to tell my story. Each day will always be a fight or battle, but I stay hopeful and keep strong. Never give up and let your cancer take over and win, always fight it, no matter how sick you are, no matter how much it hurts, NEVER GIVE UP!!! There is always that chance that it could come back, but you learn to live with that. Never take life for granted, and enjoy the little things in life. I am a 46 year old cancer survivor with my first grandson on the way enjoying my life and my family. Hope my story inspires others that are diagnosed with Breast Cancer to do the same and never give up!!!

As a breast cancer warrior, I am through the worst part of my breast cancer treatment: bilateral mastectomy, 16 weeks of chemo, hair loss, scars, 2 other surgeries and 2 of 28 radiation treatments. Just as I am waking up to the harsh reality of this last six months, I am struck with yet another very odd side effect of chemo: I have lost almost all of my eyelashes.

Normally, our eyelashes grow and shed on an intermittent basis...as one falls out, another one growing to replace it. Chemotherapy can cause the eyelashes to all coordinate their cycle of growing and falling out, so they all fall out at the same time. It’s a slap in the face after everything my psyche has been through.

Now I find myself staring at other people’s eyelashes. I covet them...staring at them, wondering if the beholder of those beautiful little appendages have any appreciation for them. I will be talking to someone and focus on their eyes, blinking and beautifully outlined by lush eyelashes. I can barely contain myself from echoing my own version of Little Red Riding Hood’s famous quote: “What lovely eyelashes you have...”.

I guess it boils down to appreciating the little things in life.

If you haven’t gone through chemo, then I doubt that you’ve really ever paid much attention to your eyelashes. Breast cancer has given me the insight to appreciate the little things: the way my lungs feel as I am walking up a hill or the fact that my bones are strong enough to keep my body upright...I feel blessed every day that we caught the cancer before it metastasized to these other parts of my body.

I challenge all of you to find something to appreciate in your life today. Your health, your relationships, maybe even your eyelashes. As for me, I am heading in for radiation #3 of 28. I’m so very appreciative that I am healthy enough to drive myself and work on my herb garden. Life is short, but beautiful...I plan to appreciate every moment of it!

Beverly

The Breast Cancer Warrior