Meet Sara
Diagnosed just 1 week after positive pregnancy test

Hey everyone,
I hope that my story can give someone out there HOPE who may find themselves in a similar scenario.

In February of 2021, after making it through 2020 unscathed, we found out we were pregnant with our fourth baby! 1 week later I got a call telling me I had invasive ductal carcinoma in my right breast.

Earlier in January I had gone to get a “lady check up” and had the doctor examine a lump I had found while nursing my son. I had hoped it was just from nursing, but the discomfort I was experiencing was alarming and I wanted to be sure. Turns out, it wasn’t from nursing.

March 1 I met with the oncology surgeon and hoped for the best! She gave me crushing news after crushing news, and we left that appointment feeling so much fear and deep sadness for what was to come. On March 12 I had a double mastectomy without reconstruction due to baby. Considering I was still nursing, this was absolutely and heartbreakingly devastating for me. But we made it through! A few months later, safely in my second trimester, we started AC chemo. I did 4 rounds 3 weeks apart and we handled it GREAT. We had found a blood clot on my heart, too! A big one! So I was on HEAVY blood thinning injections for most of the pregnancy. Ouch! But! Baby girl came end of September and was just fine!!!

After she was born we were finally able to do a full body scan and saw no evidence of disease and we were thrilled.

We then started 12 rounds of Taxol plus Herceptin. (Herceptin is for the her2+ aspect of my cancer). We finished taxol in January of 2022! I had my expanders put in in March and then the exchange in May! That was fast and such a blessing!

I’m still on Herceptin and will be finishing in October. I have a weakened heart from AC that we are trying to strengthen and I feel like my body has just been through the ringer, so as of late I’m dealing with some serious maintenance and doctor visits to get things in ship shape! Teeth being one thing!

Baby girl is almost a year old and is absolutely perfect. We are obsessed with our miracle! I am so grateful for her companionship through the hardest days of my life. I never thought I’d spend my pregnancy BALD, flat, and in chemo, but hey! Life throws some crazy curve balls!

It was the hardest season of my life, and LOTS more happened that was challenging, but God got us through it and I’m so grateful. So if you ever find yourself pregnant and not knowing if you have options, please just know you do!