Hello World! Being my first post, I guess I will backtrack a bit and summarize my breast cancer journey.......

On August, 2009, I heard those three scary words....You Have Cancer. From there, it was a whirlwind of emotions and procedures. It ended up being Stage 3. After a lumpectomy did not remove all of the affected tissue, I opted for a bilateral mastectomy. Chemo needed to begin quickly. I had roughly 5 months of chemo and infusions for a year along with 33 radiation treatments.

Moving on to reconstruction.....I had the DIEP Flap procedure (3 step surgery) done which used my belly skin and tissue as implants. It was a 12 hour procedure. It ended up being a 4-step surgery as my belly incision would not close and became infected. Essentially, I was given somewhat of a tummy tuck with the first surgery, however, something didn't take and all of my belly innards fell forward. The only solution for this was another surgery and I opted not to do it. During my last surgery, I also had my ovaries removed as I tested positive for the BRAC 2 breast cancer gene.

As far as medication, I took Tamoxifan for two years and am currently taking Aromasin until my 5 year mark. Although, my oncologist is possibly suggesting taking it for up to 10 years, as research is showing a benefit.

Speed up to the present.......not a day goes by that I don't think of reoccurrence, as I have a 40% chance of it happening at this point. During surgeries/treatment I never thought of not surviving. I kept positive. My family, friends, and fb friends are/were absolutely amazing and could not have completed my journey without them. Now, it's a constant battle to stay positive. I do my best!

Hence my blog......I love communicating with fellow bc patients/survivors. In the past, I kept somewhat of a blog on fb, but not all family members are on there to get updated. I wish I had documented my journey more and hopefully this blog will allow me to do so......

Keep on dancing my friends!