Kelly H.

My life was in order, I was married, had a darling 14 month old son, a job I loved, close family and friends. I had a lump in my right breast for about 6 months. The ultrasound was negative but my gyn and I decided to do another at a different facility. There was some abnormality but nothing to be concerned about. I did the core needle biopsy and was told my chance of it being cancer was under three percent. I stopped on my way home from work to get the results and well, life hasn''t been the same.

To sum it up, I had stage 3 lobular breast cancer, ten of 23 positive lymph nodes. I had a right mastectomy with TRAM. I opted for only one breast because I needed an arm to care for my son and while there is a 30% chance of an occurrence in the contralateral breast, I look at it as 70% chance it will not spread there. I enrolled in a study and did 4 A/C plus 12 weekly taxol. I followed that with radiation and tamoxifen. I worked part-time as an occupational therapist through most of my treatment.

I had my 6 months scan in September of 2002 and was told I was NED!!!!! We went on vacation with my family and a group of friends to celebrate. I had insisted on a hysterectomy. I had that on Oct 5th 2002. I then got a call at home from my gyn, a few days after discharge from the hospital. There were breast cancer cells in the ovaries. I heard "You are dying." My world spun out of control. I had been so positive up to this point. After talking to my oncologist, I felt better. I started treatment again on my one year anniversary. I am currently on Femara and Herceptin. I feel great. My CT and mammo in Nov of 2003 look OK. (Yeah)

This year I have become more involved in the breast cancer community. I am an active member of the young survival coalition, I am co-chair of the survivor committee for our relay for life here in bucks county PA. I was able to travel to Washington, DC to meet some Congressmen and discuss cancer care. I also give talks and love to support others.

I want people to know that I am the face of someone living with metastatic breast cancer. I am not dying. I am honestly enjoying my life. Once diagnosed with mets, I was able to get disability and am currently able to be a stay at home mom to my almost 3 year old son, Shamus. This is such a blessing. I have found that I have so much love and support around me. I try to encourage other young women at my oncologist''s office. None of us knows what the future holds. While I feel that cancer has robbed me of my security in the future, it has helped me to live and enjoy life in the moment. Really, is a few bucks today going to make that big of a difference in my son's college fund. I am trying to create lasting memories of times at the beach, eating cake for dinner, staying in our jammies all day and snuggling. My motto is, Life isn't fair but it is what you make of it.

Stories

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