I wasn't in the shower doing a monthly self check. In fact, I rarely ever did those. I never even felt a palpable "lump". I just noticed one was different than the other. Dense, not squishy (my medical terms to describe it to doctors were top notch). It would itch when I got sweaty, but I brushed it off as sensitive skin. Then it started hurting when I touched it. So I finally made an appointment and saw a NP at my OB office. A woman I had never met because my previous NP and OB had left. We spoke about my extensive family history of breast cancer, I explained to her my symptoms, and her words were "well cancer doesn't hurt, so I'm sure it's just clogged milk ducts from having children". She insisted I was too young for it to be anything serious. I thought the same, but something in my heart told me I needed to push her to write me a referral to get a mammogram and that's just what I did.
Solis got me in the very next day for a mammogram and ultrasound. I went alone because I truly didn't think anything of it. After the first mammogram, they called me back within 10 minutes and said they needed to do another one because something didn't look right. Immediately I knew something was wrong. The doctor there was vague since he wasn't 100% sure, but he basically told me there was something unusual in my breast and I needed a biopsy.
The biopsy was rough. It was my first of many to come. Waiting for the results was even worse. I don't think I took a breath for an entire week. The results came back on my portal before the doctor called, so I looked at the path report myself. Big no no y'all. When the NP called .. you know..the one who brushed me off? She said "sorry honey but it is cancer. But it's the best kind you could have!!!!" HA. Let's just say, I do not see that woman for healthcare anymore.
It was a couple of weeks of unknowns and waiting before I saw my surgical oncologist at UTSW. What an angel she is. That appointment was on my daughter's first birthday. I will never forget how difficult it was to navigate cancer and also try to give my baby a special birthday.
Things moved pretty quickly after that. More biopsies. More scans. Originally, they thought it was DCIS, which means it was contained in the milk ducts and would be considered stage 0. I decided to do a double mastectomy because I never wanted to go through this again in the other breast. Surgery was 01/22/25. It was long. 7-8 hours or so. Recovery sucked, but I was used to that after two c sections the previous years with my babies.
Unfortunately, biopsies of any kind are never 100% accurate. Path came back from the mastectomy and my diagnosis changed to IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) Stage 1 - hormone receptor negative, but HER2 which generally is far more aggressive than ER/PR types. What went from surgery and possibly radiation, turned into discussions about chemo and immunotherapy. I decided to follow the research and move forward with chemo, although it broke my heart more to do that than have my breasts removed. Chemo is scary y'all.
I started Taxol and Herceptin 4/3/25. I made it 11/12 rounds and got to ring the bell at the end of June! Surprisingly, the chemo wasn't as bad as I thought. Or maybe I was riding the survival mode wave. I'm still currently getting immunotherapy infusions (herceptin) every 3 weeks for a year, which has been a huge pain in my booty. The side effects are horrendous, but we are taking it one infusion at a time. If all goes as planned, I will finish those April 2026. Somewhere in between all of this, I will undergo reconstructive surgery, as I still have tissue expanders in my chest and they SUCK.
Anyways, that's the jist of my life these days. I hope we can all walk together in October to support this amazing cause and research that has saved my life. Without this research, I wouldn't have the immunotherapy drug that kills HER2 cells, and my life expectancy would have been much shorter. Now I have the chance to live a long life with my G and see my babies grow up.
