I was only 40 years old with a beautiful 4 year old son, Alexander, at home when I was diagnosed.  I was not scared for myself when I heard those dreaded words "you have cancer".  I was scared for Alexander.  I was scared he would not have his mom there to see and celebrate every milestone of his life.  Luckily for me, because I was going in for screenings every 6 months for a decade prior to my diagnosis, everything was caught early.  I had surgery, radiation and 5 years of oral medication to prevent recurrence.  Today I am cancer free.  I have seen and celebrated EVERY single milestone with Alexander.  He has been and always will be my inspiration to move forward.

I mentioned that I had screening every 6 months for TEN years prior to my diagnosis.  Not everyone has that opportunity.  There are a lot of barriers out there that make mammograms and especially MRIs not as accessible to all patients.  That's where Komen comes in.