A Year After Breast Cancer

It has been quite awhile since I have done a blog post sharing my cancer story. I chose to take some time to myself and decided not to talk much about my cancer diagnosis. A lot has happened in a year so bear with me if you are interested in reading my personal journey.

For awhile I chose not to share my story because I felt embarrassed, but I realized there is nothing I should be ashamed about. Yes, I had cancer and because of it I was forced to lose my breasts and lose all of my hair, but I should be confident enough to share my story. So here it goes...last February 2017 I said goodbye to breast cancer and had a bilateral mastectomy. The procedure was the most painful experience of my life. There is a lot to cover about the surgery and recovery so I will save that for a personal post. However, right after my surgery I found out the cancer decided to spread into a lymph node that was removed. At that point of my journey I cried for the first time ever. I sat on the couch and tried my best to hold my emotion back, but it just came out and I cried as much as I could. You see, when you have cancer you don't know where its traveling too or if its growing. You simply do not feel it. I remember being angry and crying because I had fought a five month battle with chemotherapy to kill the cancer and it still found a way to creep into another area of my body.

Despite the fears I had inside, I knew my journey wasn't over. I became stronger and prepared to accept the fact that I needed 30 rounds of radiation everyday (minus the weekend) for the next six weeks of my life. In June 2017 I began my new journey with radiation. The only fears I had were getting burn marks on my right breast. But, check this out, coconut oil was the BEST remedy I could use to protect my skin from reacting to the therapy. 30 rounds of radiation later and my skin had no reaction or burn to the treatment!! Was I that lucky?? Eh, I still think the power of prayer protected me. 😉

Soon after I finished radiation I was about to start my ten year regimen with Tamoxifen and two year injection of Lupron. Tamoxifen is another form of chemotherapy and Lupron is used to put women in menopause. Because my cancer is hormone driven it is recommended I be placed in menopause to prevent my body from relapsing. Let me tell you, the hot flashes are REAL! But, not having a period every month feels great, haha. Before I began my new treatments I did have some eggs removed to prevent any harm to my future children (which I should have done before I started chemotherapy infusions, but its okay they were able to freeze 8 babies!)

At this point of my life, I felt like nothing could go wrong. My hair was finally growing, I had my eyebrows and eyelashes again. I was finishing up my last term in Grad school. I was happy.

In November 2017 I had a follow-up PET scan to make sure no cancer was active in my body. Unfortunately, my neck lit up in the scan and I was facing another form of cancer, Thyroid Cancer. Right? What the heck? First breast cancer then thyroid cancer? I was in shock. My first question was, did the breast cancer spread to my thyroid? Did my thyroid cancer spread to my breast? But, the answer was no. I was facing two forms of cancer that had no correlation to one another.

Hmmm, so why was this cancer not found before? I will never know. On December 19, 2017 I had a full thyroidectomy and now I have a pretty badass scar across my neck, haha.

No one can prepare you for the journey cancer brings. It has taken me a year to feel like myself again. Although a lot has changed in my life I can say that the best part of my journey was how I faced every moment with a smile. You see, there are two ways to go about dealing with a cancer diagnosis. I chose to deal with cancer quite differently. I decided cancer was not going to define who I am. I dismissed the fact that I had cancer and I chose to live my life the way I always did. I chose to be myself and it was the best thing I could have ever done. Two cancers later and I am still strong, standing, and very much alive. For me, that's all that matters at this point in time. 

xoxo,

Kristin.