My Breast Cancer Diagnosis
March 5th, 2021 - This day will forever mark the day that my life changed forever. This is the day that I got the confirmation I have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma... aka breast cancer. As a healthy 26 year old with no family history of breast cancer, this came as a complete and total shock to myself, my family, and my friends. It's devastating news to receive.
It would be easy for me to dwell on the past and wish that we had caught this sooner, but I don't see how that will do me any good. All I can do now is stay positive and get ready to kick cancers a**.
I know people have a lot of questions, so here is just a high-level overview of my diagnosis:
The type of breast cancer I have is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
The cancer is Grade 3, which means it is fast growing and aggressive
At least Stage 3 as of now since we know it has spread into my lymph nodes under my left arm. A PET scan will be done this week to confirm whether the cancer has spread anywhere else in my body. If it has, the cancer would then be classified as stage 4.
It is HER2 triple positive (More info here on that for those interested in learning more about what this means)
All of this sounds super scary, but I am super confident in the team that has been put together to work in my case and with the treatment plan that they have developed. Here is what we have coming up next:
This week I have a whole slew of tests being done to get more imaging and information on whether or not we think the cancer has spread anywhere else throughout my body - we are staying optimistic about this one!
Thursday - I will have surgery to get a port put in that will be used for my chemotherapy
Friday - I start chemotherapy bright and early so we can start killing all the cancerous cells in my body! 😊
Lastly, a quick PSA for everyone, especially young women (and men):
Give yourself monthly breast self-exams to make sure you don't feel any lumps or abnormalities
Go to your annual physical with your general physician or whoever (this is how I initially discovered the lump in my left breast)
Be an advocate for yourself - if you think something is wrong or you notice something unusual bring it to your doctors attention right away. Don't be afraid to request additional examinations or testing just to confirm everything is fine. If your doctor refuses or just tries to tell you that there is nothing to be concerned with, then bring it to another doctors attention for a second opinion. You know your body best and if you think there is something wrong, it is worth fighting for to get some answers.
This can happen to ANYONE. I always thought older women were the one's who got breast cancer. I thought women who had a family history of breast cancer were the one's that needed to worry the most about possibly getting it. I never in a million years would have thought that a 26 year old with no family history of breast cancer would be the one with this diagnosis, but here we are. So please don't think that this won't happen to you because you are young or because you have no family history - cancer plays by its own rules, which means none of us are immune to it.
I'll end this by saying thank you to those who have already shown me so much love and support through all of this. It has been and will continue to be a whirlwind for the foreseeable future, and myself and my family will do our very best to provide updates as we learn new information about my cancer. Just know that even if I do not respond to your messages, I am seeing them all and they are fueling my strength and positivity as I begin this journey to beat breast cancer.
I love you all!