“You’re too young”, I was told. “Wait until you’re 45”, they said, regarding the ultrasound I was considering as a high-risk patient.
My intuition told me otherwise. I had been experiencing unsettling feelings that I couldn’t explain. I was questioning my life path and wondering if I was entering my mid-life crisis era.
Weeks later, my routine mammogram would give me a reason for all those feelings. There was no lump, no tenderness, no redness, only an intuition that I needed to do something.
After my breast exam, I was still surprised, as cloudy images led to multiple needle biopsies and an MRI which resulted in a final diagnosis of Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
The next year, I survived as I lost my breasts. I survived medical complications from surgery. I survived 16 rounds of chemotherapy, which left me bald and exhausted. I survived sudden anaphylaxis from the therapy that was saving my life. And I survived the ICU after a sepsis infection, just as I was inching closer towards physical recovery.
Through all these events, I was fortunate to find the Breast Cancer Coalition, with their compassionate staff, and network of other young survivors who were on their own journeys. I went from being scared and feeling entirely alone to surrounded by an amazing community of women, armed with their own powerful stories of survival and perseverance. I made new friendships, discovered comfort in connection, and found the help I needed to begin to take the steps towards mental recovery.
Today, I’m focused on gratitude as I continue to progress and adapt to life after cancer. I’m grateful to have the perspective of how quickly life can change and what really matters. I’m grateful that I will be an example and mentor to other young women. And I’m forever grateful that I trusted myself…because you’re never “too young” to be a breast cancer survivor.
July 2025
