I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September of 2017 after a surgery to remove what appeared on an ultrasound to be a fibroadenoma. To say the diagnosis was a shock is an understatement. I was told time and again it was benign and there was a very small chance it could be anything else. All the people in my life kept saying not to worry, “you’re too young for cancer”. The first few weeks were a blur full of fear, confusion, and more doctors appointments than I could count. During this time I also harvested eggs. I had to make more important life decisions in seven days than I think some people do in a lifetime. Eggs or embryos, how do I pick an oncologist, do I take a leave from work or work through treatment. It was all so overwhelming, I cried everyday.

But it gets better. I completed four rounds of AC combo then I was scheduled to do 12 of taxol/carboplatin. But I had to stop a couple early due to neuropathy. My advice to anyone starting this journey is stop, take a breath, and know it won’t be this scary forever. You will cry but you will laugh more. For every hard, sick, tired day there will be so many more that are good. You will see this good in humanity you’ve never seen before. When your friend and family offer to help ACCEPT it. They want to do something, and though you are super woman, sometimes you just need a nap and Netflix and to let someone else make dinner or clean your house. Drink as much water as you can. Seriously, get a water bottle and glue it to your hand. The days through chemo may feel long but the weeks will start to fly by and pretty soon you’ll wake up one day and have some fuzzies on your head and a renewed energy and you'll realize what a bad ass cancer survivor you are!