At my six month follow up after having my second child, my OB/GYN suggested that I get a baseline mammogram since I had just turned 35. I was still nursing my baby and asked if I had to quit nursing. She told me that she did not feel anything unusual in my breast exam and to go whenever I quit nursing. 5 months later I went in for my baseline mammogram when they found "a worrisome mass". That was May 2008 when I was diagnosed with Stage 2-A invasive intraductal carcinoma. After my lumpectomy in June I went through 8 rounds of chemo then 6 weeks of radiation.
On June 5th 2009, I celebrated being cancer free for one year. I have learned so many things during this last year. I learned how much I am loved. I learned just how strong I am (emotionally, physically, and spiritually). I also learned that I am not defined by my diagnosis. I choose to be happy regardless of my circumstances.
As I went through treatment I felt like everyone looked at me as a cancer patient and now a breast cancer survivor, but there is so much more to me that that. I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a friend. I am a child of God. I am a professional. I am a daughter. I am so much more than just my diagnosis.
If you were diagnosed with breast cancer remember that you are more than your diagnosis too.
Gilbert, AZ