It all started in late Jan 2005 when I felt an unusual tenderness in one of my breast.  I thought that the pain would probably go away, but instead, over a short length of time, the pain started to increase and I soon discovered through a self exam that it was a lump about the size of a lemon which appeared out of nowhere.  I scheduled an appointment with a breast specialist who determined that it was a cyst.  The doctor proceeded to do a needle biopsy to drain & check the fluid in the cyst.  I immediately felt better after the cyst was drained and thought nothing more of it.  “Couldn’t be serious” I thought.  After all, I’d just did a mammogram in Oct 2004 and everything came out good.  Little did I know that I would get a call from my doctor wanting me to come back in.  He informed me that the fluid was full of abnormal cells so we proceeded to schedule a biopsy.  Upon having the biopsy in March, I learned that I had 3 cysts sitting atop of a 1.8cm sized cancerous tumor.  I realized that, had it not been for the 3 cysts, I probably wouldn’t have known that there was a tumor there.  After all, the pain that I had experienced earlier came from the cysts itself, and not from the tumor.  Be mindful that I was not due for another mammogram until the next October.  So I thank God for those cysts which clued me to go get checked before October.  Because of the number of people in my family that had already been diagnosed with breast cancer, I decided to get the genetic BRCA test which came out positive.  I decided to do the tram-flap surgery with reconstruction.  It was during this major surgery that the doctors discovered that I also had another 2 cm tumor in the other breast as well.    The cancer turned out to be grade 3, triple negative, and was very aggressive.  This is why I stress the importance of doing self breast exams and staying faithful with all mammograms and ultrasounds especially for those who are high risk and already have a number of family members who were diagnosed.  

Through all the diagnosis, surgeries, hospitals, and chemo,….it’s still about God’s purpose.  In all that I went through, I had the opportunity to share and pray with many while we were in chemo together.  And even now, many years later, I still have the opportunity to help educate others by sharing information about breast health awareness.