I was diagnosed January, 2022 right at the beginning of a new year.
I am 32 Years old.

During my late 20’s I went in multiple times to have a cyst looked at. They would do an ultrasound and then drain it, never anything to worry about. After a couple more years now 31 years old I was experiencing pain right in the same spot as my cyst. I prolonged my next doctor’s visit because I was also going through a divorce. Once I went into the doctors they did the same routine as before, first ultrasound then talk of draining it again.

While she was doing the ultrasound she said, “were going to have to look at this more with a biopsy”. That was never said before, so I was scared.
I went home and waited for the phone call. A few days later I received a call from the doctor’s office telling me I have stage 3 breast cancer.

The next few weeks were constant doctor’s appointments, starting all treatments right away. I got my port put in and had the choice of doing a clinical trial or the standard treatment of chemotherapy. I decided to do the standard treatment. During my first infusion, I had an allergic reaction to the chemo, so they had to give me multiple things to stop the reaction. 3 weeks later I went back for my second treatment out of 6. My reaction was worse, so they stopped the standard treatments and switched me to the clinical trial drugs.

My 6 treatments turned into 14 rounds of chemo, once a week. My recovery time was much faster with this clinical trial, I was thankful to be switched to it. I was put into medical menopause to protect my ovaries in hopes of being able to have a baby one day still. So, all the side effects started hitting, body swelling, hot flashes, nausea, hair loss, and overall body fatigue. You forget what you look like until you see the reaction on others faces.

Figuring out how to feel comfortable in public and trying to find something normal to wear on your head. I made it through my 14 rounds of chemo and my double mastectomy. Forgetting the sacrifices you’re making to your body, mind and soul in the midst of saving your own life. Due to having HER2 positive type of breast cancer I am doing 14 more rounds of a hormone therapy infusion. My hair is growing back, and I am one year into a healthy, and happy new relationship. I am blessed to be a Breast Cancer Survivor and starting a new beautiful life!