I met a great lady online… she actually found me… and she has an amazing site called which is an amazing resource…. www.mydestiny-us.com

And she moderates a site on Facebook called… Prophylactic Mastectomy – also another amazing resource…..

She asked me to tell my story…. so here it is in a nutshell… 🙂

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My breast cancer story… (so far)…

In March 2013 I felt some lumps in my left breast, I was so scared…. I managed to get in for my mammogram, weeks later…. They did a diagnostic mammogram and the words the doctor told me will forever ring in my ears…. “You just have some cysts, come back in a year”.

I’m a busy wedding photographer… I got busy with my wedding season… those words were EXACTLY what I wanted to hear and I literally stopped touching my breasts…. For months. I don’t know how I managed to miss what happened to my breast… From my view up top, everything looked normal…. I have a 4 year old, so I stay busy with him… I didn’t pay attention.  My breast had a large crease or dimple from the nipple to the underarm and my nipple was turning inward…

November 6, 2013… I was getting my son in the bath and I took a shower like usual… for some reason, I stopped and looked in the mirror. Something I rarely do…. And I actually sat on the bathroom counter and looked at myself. I do not know what possessed me to do this, I never, ever do this…. And what I saw…. Shocked me. I took a photo and sent it to my husband… then my Mom… They both agreed, I needed to go back to the doctor.

My doctor agreed it was very strange… these changes….  she sent me for another diagnostic mammogram… It was supposed to AGAIN take weeks to get me in… I was SO worried, everything I read about dimpling meant cancer. It was the EXACT same location I felt the cysts previously…. I would call daily to see if I could get my appointment moved up… November 8^th… I called again. I talked to a lady and said… “listen can I send you a photo of my breast… because last April in the EXACT same spot…. I had some lumps and now my whole breast is caving in…” She put me on a brief hold and came back and said “Can you come in today?” I was SO relieved….

Everything about this appointment was different… The doctor did the ultrasound, they spent A LOT of time…. The Mammogram tech asked me… “Is your breast always this hard?”…. My heart sank and I sat there staring at the ceiling… I could not even believe it, I just knew…. The doctor came back and he said.. “Dawn, we are VERY concerned with what we see… the breast does not usually do this, unless there is a tumor pulling at it and typically those tumors are always cancer.” I asked him if he would please explain all of this to my husband….. When they pulled my husband in, he knews… “Sir, in my opinion, I think your wife has cancer”….

That ride home…. was terrible. He held my hand so tight…. we had brought two cars… we left mine there and rode home together… All these thoughts went through my head…. but primarily…. how would I tell my kids?

My biopsy followed that next week…. I had two areas, my breast and a lymph node that they biopsied… November 14, 2013… we got the dreaded call…. “Are you in a place where you can talk?…. You have Invasive Lobular and Invasive Ductal Cancer, you are ER+, PR+ and HER2-… you will need chemo and surgery…” I bawled my eyes out…. I could NOT believe this… How did this happen?

They sent me for MRI…. MRI confirmed I had a sizable tumor…. 4cm, but by feel… they felt it was more like 6cm. AND… they suspected I had some spots in my right breast as well… I went for biopsy on those spots… which on ultrasound they had a hard time finding…. But they did find one area that looked like a cyst, which the doctor thought for sure would aspirate…. It did not aspirate and they were in fact able to get a biopsy of it…. That particular spot did not YET have cancer… but it had precancerous cells… HOWEVER, these were not the spots they saw on MRI…. I was told… “it could be 4 months, 1 year…. 5 years… but you will develop breast cancer in your right breast as well….”

So, I met with my surgical oncologist… who confirmed… Stage 2 cancer that she thought at the time…. We determined my course of treatment… Chemo, then double mastectomy.. then radiation….. then delayed reconstruction.

I met with my Oncologist… by this time, he felt my lump was a palpable 6cm… he confirmed that I am Stage 3… and he determined that TAC chemo for 6 rounds would be best…. then double mastectomy…. then Radiation…. then 6-9 months later… reconstruction….

Currently…. I am undergoing chemotherapy…. I have completed 4 of 6 total rounds of  TAC chemotherapy…. My tumor has responded to chemo, they feel it has probably diminished by about half…. So far. I will be seeing my radiation oncologist on Monday and I will be seeing my plastic surgeon on Friday of this week to determine my options…. I am scheduled for my double mastectomy on April 17.

If you’d like to keep up with my story….. http://www.itsmesunshinesignedyourboobs.com

Yesterday.. my Mom was afraid to tell me some news from a mutual friend of ours that has supported me through my breast cancer journey.  She’s felt so drawn to me because she too had breast cancer… almost exactly a year ago. Her breast cancer was a bit different, she was HER2+, but she went through chemo and surgery….

Yesterday, I spoke of health and happiness and how you never get to feel that bliss of feeling healthy…. you always worry about your health…. Well my friend Phylis… found out that she now has a tumor on her brain… It’s the size of a grape. And she’ll undergo surgery on Monday… When my Mom told me…. I cried. I was devastated for her…. Just when you think… I’ve got this…. another blow…. the fight continues!  So I texted with her yesterday… right away. She’s in such good spirits…. Unfortunately, the tumor affects her right side, so it’s affected her ability to text, write, lift her right arm, etc…. so she was texting with her left hand… quite impressively with punctuation and all! I had so many questions for her… They just did her PET scans back in December and all were clear… but, that’s not a brain scan… they don’t automatically check your brain… I have NO idea why and I may be demanding some more tests….

You hear over and over again… breast cancer loves to spread to the liver, the lungs, the bones and the brain…. you would think… all of these things would be checked out…. I learned something else from Phylis yesterday… Chemo doesn’t affect the brain… so if there is cancer on the brain… it would be unaffected by the chemo…  I asked her if she had headaches beside the other neuro symptoms…. she said she used to get migraines… before chemo, but when chemo put her into menopause, the headaches went away…. I’m so proud of her attitude…. she’s ready for whatever comes her way! She said… it was a sucker punch to the gut… but she has her game face on…. She’ll most likely undergo radiation too…. Phylis…. I know you read my blog…. I love you very much and I’m going to be praying for you and I hope everyone joins me in prayer for Phylis….  We know there is only one solution for the cure of these problems….. and, we wait…  I will be anxiously awaiting updates…. I’m a quote lover…. and I found this quote…..Love you girl…

On a lighter side…. yesterday, we received an evite from one of our upcoming weddings… Let me go back for a minute… I was in Wisconsin last year when their email came in….. they were head over heels in love with Greyson Steele Photography before even meeting… I don’t think they ever looked elsewhere…. We had to coordinate schedules…. but in the meantime, they sent me photos…. they are seriously, the cutest couple…. gorgeous actually….I fell in love with them too! After they left our meeting, they sent me pictures enjoying the treat I’d gotten for them…. They text with me often.   When I told them of my cancer… they didn’t even bat an eyelash, they just supported us. Anyway, they invited us to their engagement party that is upcoming…. she had texted me and told me that we were invited and she told me what they were going to say in their invitation…. but when I actually read it, I was just so touched….

A note from Amy & Evan:
One of the most important responsibilities in a wedding is documenting every moment so that it can be relived forever. It takes a special connection between the bride, groom and photographer to save each special memory. We have been very blessed to meet a very special person that we trust with saving each memory of our special day. We were heartbroken when we heard that Dawn Gaddy was diagnosed with breast cancer. Dawn’s fight has been long and very challenging. Instead of gifts for this party, we would ask for donations in honor of Dawn and her fight to overcome her battle with cancer… Thank You!

I told them, this is their engagement party.. they said, it was already done…. I’m just taken aback by the goodness of some people. We’ve met once…. Truly humbling. There is such goodness in the hearts of some people…. Amy & Evan… this quote is for you…  I’m devastated I can’t be there for your party… Darrell will be photographing your engagement session, you are in amazing hands….. but you know I’ll be there with bells for your wedding… ❤ I cannot wait!

One other thing I wanted to mention….  I had given up ALL sugar except my coffee creamer in the morning… well after Phylis’ news…. I’m so committed to ousting all sugar from my diet. Breast cancer and all cancer’s feed on sugar….. so these are some things I’ve found and I’m doing….

At Harris Teeter I found these items…. the chocolate is really, really good….. you don’t need to eat a lot, just gives you the satisfaction of having some chocolate! And… I haven’t tried the brownies… they have gluten in them… I’m trying to stay gluten free for the most part…..

Yesterday, I felt just awful… I was so worried… I had this feeling like something was in my lung, I felt weak… I could barely walk from one room to another without sitting down, I was getting the cold sweats… I have been just so weak. When I called my oncologist, they wanted me to go straight to the ER, they worried about a clot in my lung or somewhere…

My wonderful husband rushed to be by my side… once again… and on the way, we didn’t speak much… we were both really worried… but as I was looking out the window on the way there, I said… “I never worried about my health, I never had to…. now here I am worrying about life threatening things, like blood clots… ” He just said… “It’s going to be ok”…. We spent the majority of the day at the ER… and he sat there and held my hand and rubbed my neck and watch the monitor beep in my excitement of being rubbed… he told me to smile for the camera…. Well, they finally ordered a CT scan… and our fears were put to rest…. There was no clot and no signs of the cancer spreading…. That was amazing news… BUT, my neurophils were extremely, extremely low… which is basically part of the white blood cells… which are also very low… Which is typical during chemo, but I get Neulasta which causes my white blood cells to increase…. they were worried maybe I didn’t get the shot, but I did…. last Friday after chemo. My doctor warned me that chemo can actually cause Leukemia…. so I pray that this is a blip on the radar and that there is not something more substantial going on here….

I never had to worry before… I was healthy, I mean really healthy…. I had low blood pressure, low cholesterol… sure I might have been 10lbs overweight…. but overall I was healthy, I literally never worried about or for my health…. I worried more about my parents health than I ever worried about my own….

Cancer and chemo wreaks havoc on your body…. the things they give you, cause other things…. I have a port, which can cause blood clots… Neulasta can cause a myriad of things… but, it increases bone marrow… and increases white blood cells…. so in that process, I get pains all over… random pains in my back, in my ribs, in my shoulder blades in my knees…. You don’t know if it’s serious or if it’s not…. so they just watch it and see. I’m grateful I got the CT scan…. because one of my biggest concerns is that the cancer would spread… This will be a worry I will have for the rest of my life, most likely…. and that really, really, really sucks…. I will never have that peace and bliss about my health again….

I wish now, I’d have done some things differently…. maybe watched my sugars, exercised more, ate better, drank less alcohol…. I believe it would have helped… or prolonged my prognosis… We all have cancer cells in our bodies… but based upon our lifestyles, stress, our diet, our activity levels…. determines whether our bodies will combat the cells….

But, I can’t change any of that…. what I really want going forward… is health & happiness…. I’ve mentioned how cancer makes you re-prioritize so many things in your life… that it does… and I’m thankful for those changes…. it really gives you a new perspective…. your relationships are richer, your thoughts are clearer, your purpose is more defined…. Nothing else really matters, except living…. a full, rich, life…

I want my health…. I want to beat this cancer, I want to go on blissfully believing that it will not come back in my bones or my liver or my brain….. I will do my very best to make sure that I do everything in my power to assure that…. but, I will never have that peace again…. Those of you who are healthy….. ENJOY that peace… take charge of your health before you have to be constantly worried about it… It’s simple changes… these are in my opinion what I would do… not medical advice…

1. Do not take hormones of any kind

2. Exercise

3. Eat no refined sugars (except an occasional treat)

4. Eat no beef or pork

5. Eat lots of fresh veggies and salads, steamed veggies and lots of fresh fruits

6. Drink MORE WATER

7. Drink no alcohol (except an occasional glass of wine)

8. Implement more relaxation… alone time to reflect, massages, facials, etc…

9. Eat gluten free

10. Live a positive lifestyle

Today, I’m still weak…. but I think I may be better than yesterday… which is a step in the right direction…. It’s going to be beautiful in NC today… so I will try to breathe some of the fresh air, if it means I sit on the back patio for a few minutes…. By the way… I love you Darrell Gaddy, you look past my bald head and sullen eyes and manage to make me laugh and remember who I was before all of this… I sure hope you look forward to who I’ll be… I hope it’s 100 times better than I was before… I could not do this without you. You make me strong, even when I’m weak…. ❤

Since yesterday I’ve not been feeling so great… I’ve been having a hard time catching my breath, feeling faint, cold sweats…. so I called my oncologist today and they felt I should maybe get checked…. so I went in… which ended up being an entire day spent at the ER… they were extremely busy today…

Long story short…. My oncologist was concerned maybe I had a blood clot… but, I had a CT scan and all was clear… it turns out the reason for my other symptoms is due to my Neurophils being extremely low… Under 1700 is low… under 500 is considered Neutropenia… My levels were 510…

I was told any sign of fever or anything that might indicate an infection, I should go back to the ER…

In the mean time… I guess we just wait it out and hope the neurophils increase… I feel extremely weak, going from one room to the next… I get the sweats… I just feel very unwell…. 😦

I was told that chemo can cause Leukemia… so  I pray that this is just a blip…. and that it’s not something more serious…

Since I’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer…. I have had several wedding industry friends and personal friends come to me who’ve had concerns with their breasts… I think it’s especially scary for these women because they’ve seen first hand how breast cancer has affected my life… as a photographer and personally… In this time, I’ve also learned of people directly linked with me who actually have been diagnosed with breast cancer…

It’s scary. It’s so incredibly scary.  Cancer, just the word is scary…. If out of all that I’m going through…. I feel like at the very least it’s creating an awareness….and these ladies who’ve been directly linked to me… at the very least, they are paying attention… Most breast conditions do not result in breast cancer. Thankfully…. as I’ve since found out…. Someday, I will share the photos of my cancer and how it appeared…. but it’s very graphic so I do not want to offend anyone. My left breast had very physical characteristics… that presented… Someday, however… I do feel it’s important for people to see what it is that my breast did…

Early diagnosis is key… unfortunately in my situation it was not my fault that it was not early diagnosed…. but, the sooner you find the lump…. or the issue, the better… it can mean avoiding chemotherapy, it can mean avoiding a total mastectomy, it can mean avoiding radiation…. Unfortunately for me… in a very short time, my cancer progressed…. and I will have to undergo all of these things…

I guess my point in all of this…. is awareness is HUGE… Breast cancer was not something I worried about, I was young, I had no family history….. at the very, very least…. out of my situation…. women are paying attention. To me… that makes it all feel worthwhile…. and best yet… they come to me with their worry and concerns… and I worry with them…. until they get the all clear…. I love that I can be that support to them…  I love being that kind of friend.

And then I have friends and people I’ve come to know who are living with Stage 4 cancer… and it’s so incredibly scary for them, knowing and watching people they know die from this disease…. I fully believe in the mind/body connection…. and what we need to remember is not everyone dies from breast cancer…. There are those people who are willing to do whatever it takes to change their lifestyle…. and it does work. Not everyone is willing… maybe they feel they want to live out their last days and enjoy their lives without worrying about what they are taking in…. but there is most definitely a connection between eating well, exercising and fighting this disease… I found an article that I’d love to share…. not everyone takes the traditional medicine route either… some people have no choice…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSjQYQt-PRw I found it very powerful….and it’s worth 6 minutes… This particular lady did not have insurance and her cancer went away on it’s own… Personally, going completely natural scares me as well, but I do believe in doing it all….

I have a friend I’d love to reach out to via my blog today… Pamela… Pamela is living with Stage 4 cancer and has been a breast cancer survivor for 8 years… she’s fought this disease hard… with many rounds of chemo and is currently living with metastatic breast cancer in her liver… I met her through my daughter’s family and she has been a true inspiration to me… These days, she’s been quiet and I thought she may be be struggling…. Recently, she lost a friend to this disease and it’s hit her hard… She’s searching for answers and trying to find the strength inside of her to continue her fight…. Pamela…. I believe in you. I have been encouraged and inspired by you…. I know it’s a hard fight…. but I want you to be my fellow survivor… and I want to walk in the breast cancer walkathons with you and I want to tell all my friends about how you’ve overcome your stage 4 cancer…. Believe… pray…. and hope….

Pink has always been a favorite color of mine…..Despite the fact that the color pink defines breast cancer…. I choose to look past that and I KNOW pink will forever be a part of my life… it’s just so beautiful! I’ve been pinteresting…. is that a word? I think it is now…. ❤

These are the pink things I’m thinking of today…. Pink Peonies… spring is coming! Pink Roses…. Gabriella’s Pink Cherry Blossom Tree….. I can’t wait to start sprucing up our yard…. and walking around the neighborhood… and I honestly just can’t wait to feel normal again…. I’m so looking forward to all the things that lie ahead….. I’m grateful all of the major parts of my breast cancer will be behind me by summer…. I want to firm up this newly skinny body of mine…. and just soak up life’s moments….. we will have a beach trip planned… courtesy of some of our past wedding clients….. I just want to live…. and literally enjoy every thing. I want to redecorate my home, garage sale…. I want to spend time with my family and have silly moments…. and hopefully spend a lot more time with friends….

Speaking of pink…. my beautiful daughter turns 18 today, she’s also a lover of pink! It’s a mutual likeness we have…. I never had my own daughter, so when my boyfriend at the time (now my hubby) told me he had a daughter… I was a bit worried, how would we get along? Not one bat of an eyelash… we get along amazing – I hate to even refer to her as my step daughter… to me, she is just simply my daughter. She wanted the best for her Daddy and I quite like to think I am what’s best for him…. and she has changed my world forever! I love doing girlie girl things with her.. it’s so nice to have her around…  Brianna… I love you!

I’m just recuperating from this last round of chemo but wanted to talk a little how I love Pink… ❤

As I’m going to sip my coffee and I take a taste and just sit there and wish it would taste the same!!!  In the meanwhile my dog is sitting next to me… and I can’t stand the smell of him, it was wet outside… wet dog smell is the worst… I think he thinks I don’t love him anymore… I think everyone in my house with breath thinks I don’t love them anymore….When you lose your nose hairs… your sense of smell is amplified by 100X… Everything stinks.. my perfume, the smell of meat cooking, all foods cooking… onion breath…. any type of Italian breath…. I think it’s the worst… God love my family, but let’s pray these next 2 chemo cycles go quickly….  Kisses are real quick these days….

And taste…. well, I’ve touched on this before… besides the taste of medicines, your mouth tastes like you’ve sucked on a bunch of pennies…. all the time. I think maybe like 4-5 days before it’s time to start again… it might get a little better. All the things I love…. taste different. I still try to drink my coffee…. and remember how it used to taste… it just doesn’t taste the same. Some coffees taste like they should… Starbucks for instance? Why? I’m sure it’s just because it’s harder to get my hands on… lol So my diet… is pretty bland. Rice…. potatoes, baked, hash browns, mashed… potatoes in every variety…. eggs taste normal…. toast tastes normal…. I’m avoiding gluten so this reduces my options a lot. Watermelon tastes pretty good… but they are hard to get a hold of this time of year…. Peaches sound delicious too… I had chemo in the wrong season….

This photo I took from google, it has the link attached for credit… but it pretty much sums up my taste and smell….

Yesterday I went and had my Neulasta shot…. the winter storm was over, but the roads were pretty glazy in places… so my parents came and picked me up, took me to get something to eat… and then we went to their house for the afternoon… it was a nice change of scenery. I napped and I reminisced over photos for a good while… it was nice to look back at the photos of my older boys… and remember times with my family, my Mom’s family, my Dad’s family… I really enjoyed it.  The purpose of my blog is to inform of the reality of chemo, the ups and downs…. etc. This go around… my nausea is ridiculous…. I have to get up in the night to keep my meds in me…. I alternate between Zofran and Lorazepam, I think I will ask next time for Phenergan…these two aren’t cutting it…. I try to eat what I can…. and I’m really trying to stay hydrated…

And I remind myself… 2 more…. 2 more!!!!

I know this last chemo is one that will not be forgotten… it was one of the largest storms we’ve seen in 10 years here in the south…We’ve been all tucked in… I thought they might cancel my chemo, but they didn’t…there were very few people there, but I was so grateful they didn’t cancel my chemo. I did not want to put it off… I just wanted to get it over with… At this point, I just can’t wait to be done….. By the time I left chemo.. it took Darrell and hour to get me… and for us to get home. I came home and crawled into bed…

I had a consultation with my surgical oncologist and my surgery will be in April… I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel and I just can’t wait for this whole process to be over… well it won’t be over for a good long time, but… just to have chemo behind me. I know the surgery will be painful… but I have a pretty high tolerance for pain…

My chemo’s have been accumulating… the side effects are getting worse each time. I feel really, really lousy…. today I napped for 4 hours. My nausea is really hard…. I’ve been trying to eat little bits and drink a lot of water….

My doctor’s are happy with my progress with chemo…. the tumor seems to be responding real well….

2 more to go…..

Today was a bit of a sad, reflective day…. 5 years ago today, we found out that we’d lost our Gabriella at my 4D ultrasound… we turned right around and went back to the doctor and she was delivered on the 14th…. I decided to write about it today… I don’t want to bring down anyone’s tomorrow…. We think of her all the time… and we have a cherry blossom tree planted in her honor…. after all this snow, we should see some blossoms…. Thinking of you always Gabriella Christine Ann Gaddy….

It was in the 60’s yesterday and they are calling for snow Tuesday and Wednesday…. Tuesday I’m supposed to go see my surgical oncologist and Wednesday I have chemo…  I’ll be calling here in a few minutes to find out what will become of these appointments….. I wished I could just skippit…. chemo that is! Doubtful…. I just called and they said I have to call the day of… Grrrr…  The stores and shelves in the stores will be empty…. February storms seem to be the worst here in NC! The refreezes keep the kids home and the roads empty! Well… if they are smart, because there are no snow plows here…. or salt or sand…. well maybe the main thoroughfares… but that’s it. The back roads are brutal. I lived in Wisconsin for 32 years… it’s quite interesting when the state goes into panic mode and the news stations have nothing to report… but news of snow….

I would love to talk about feelings for a minute… When you are first diagnosed with cancer…. everyone you know rallies by your side, they are shocked, they are your cheerleaders, they want to see you well, they want to help…. When I was first diagnosed, I was sure, I was confident, I was exuberant with hope…. Cancer doesn’t feel real, you feel well….. I was still strong.

Time goes by…. you have your first chemo…. this starts to feel real. You realize chemo is not a joke. It’s extremely hard on your body…. you get lots of visitors,offers of help and support like you will not believe, you are still strong and hopeful…. then you start to lose your hair… somewhere around the 2nd week after the first chem0 and by the time you start again….. and it starts to feel REALLY real and then you start to look like a cancer patient…. You’re tired…. you feel physically unwell. But, you’re still hopeful.

More time goes by… a couple chemo’s in… things start to hurt that you never imagined could hurt. The news of the cancer wears off and you find there is less support… you start to feel a bit lonely…. you are now very bald, you feel very unattractive (unless you have energy to put makeup on – because believe me you NEED it)…. you look wrinkly and dry (I have lines on my face, I’m sure will need help after all this)… you look sick, people look upon you with pity… especially in public and even those in your own family. But… you find your smiles where you can…. those that text you to see if you’re doing well, the notes of hope on your Facebook wall, the meals that are delivered and the ones who remain by your side…. Your real friends and people who know what cancer & chemo does and genuinely want to help. You will find out who your real friends are and the fake ones will wayside…. the real ones have longevity. You are no longer strong… you wonder how you’ll make it through the rest…. You’ll have good days and really bad days… you just soak up the good days and take the bad as they come… You find strength deep inside you to keep going! Staying positive is harder…

And, that is where I am at this point in time….

I do find joy in the smallest of things…. and this little thing is one of the biggest reasons I find joy….I thank God I have him every day… he keeps me going, he keeps me moving…. and he makes me smile.

Just Cysts…. These words ring back in my ears….  last April I was told the lumps I felt were “just cysts” and come back in a year…  Since I’ve been diagnosed… I’ve met several other women who were told that they had fibrous cysts or simple cysts…. and it turned out they ARE cancerous! I only wish I could go back in time and urge them to look into those cysts a little bit more…. In 7 months time, I had a tumor that presented itself…. but it did NOT show up on mammogram.. It could be felt and honestly it caused my breast to cave in, basically… from the nipple to the armpit… Had I been diagnosed earlier… maybe I could have avoided chemo altogether!

In my case – I was told I was healthy and those were EXACTLY the words I wanted to hear and honestly… I stopped checking my breasts!!! I figured they were just cysts… no big deal! I didn’t pay my breasts any attention from April – November when I happened to look in the mirror…. I’ve been asked repeatedly… how could you not tell? I guess the changes were gradual…. and unless I was looking in a mirror… from my view looking down it was not noticeable.

MRI is what ultimately diagnosed me… AND found some spots in my right breast…. On ultrasound, it appeared…. I have “cysts” in my right breast…. When the doctor went to biopsy my right breast, she told me she felt it was “just a cyst” and would aspirate upon the needle being inserted…. IT DID NOT.

I pray…. in our day and age with all the garbage we ingest and the processed foods we eat, the alcohol we drink….. maybe cysts aren’t just cysts anymore? I don’t think it’s coincidental that several people I’ve met now who’ve been told that their spots in their breast are “cysts”…. turned out to be cancerous….

I have a previous post… “Stick a Needle In It”…. seriously, if ever in question….. URGE them to stick a needle in it! It really isn’t all that painful as you might think… it’s tolerable.

In my case…. had my breasts been D’s… and I had more breast tissue, it’s ENTIRELY possible… that this time it would have been missed as well because my breast may not have shown any signs on the outside…  Mammogram November and Mammogram April looked identical side by side. My doctor said ONLY because of the way my breast was presenting…. did they really look further. And…. had they waited…. another year – I would probably be incurable with the cancer having spread to other areas of my body…. That’s incredibly scary!!! I’m so thankful this one time in my life that my breasts had the life sucked out of them…. and weren’t incredibly large.

On another note… I’d really like to thank Monica Reid and her husband from Monica Reid Photography for photographing our February 8th wedding… We are so incredibly thankful for you… and offering your services was incredibly generous and we are extremely thankful… My bride loved your work and it was a phenomenal fit for you both… I cannot wait to see the outcome of the photos!!!

For the past several days I’ve had some deep pain in my ribs…. which I’m hoping is from my Neulasta shot… but I go to see my surgical oncologist on Tuesday and I may ask for some additional tests… if it doesn’t stop…