My world changed February 25, 2025. "The lump I found during surgery came back positive for cancer." I dropped. I wasn't expecting to hear those words. I was removing a benign lump to be proactive and prevent cancer. My heart sunk at the thought of telling my mom that a second daughter of hers has cancer. 7 years later and the same age my sister was when she was diagnosed.

My sister Melissa was 34 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative breast cancer in 2017. I watched her fight and support other women for 15 months. As I approached turning 34, I was even more proactive with my self-checks. I just knew something would come up. I was relieved when the lump I found came back benign and wanted it removed so it couldn't house cancer in the future. It was during the removal surgery that my cancer was found. Stage 1 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. I am very fortunate that I listened to my sister and did my self-checks because I was able to find my cancer early enough to not need chemo or radiation. I had a bilateral mastectomy with DIEP reconstruction to prevent any chance of it coming back.

I've struggle with how my journey has looked. Not having to do chemo or radiation has made it feel like I got the easy way out, but I remind myself that I still heard the words "you have cancer". My world shattered and my body has changed. I want to continue to honor my sister and help others with their journey in hopes that they too find their cancer early enough to not need chemo or radiation. My journey has been different but still difficult and I'm a survivor.

Please donate or share to help me reach my goal.

Thank you!