Metastatic Breast Cancer: I was diagnosed four weeks after giving birth to my third child
Today I am 38 and have been through menopause for four years, but there is no evidence of active disease in my body. I’m still taking the same medications and they still work. In the world of cancer, treatment plans are called “lines of treatment.” You have the first line, the second line, the third line, and so on. When one stops working, you move on to the “next line”; They usually become more toxic and less tolerable. I’m very fortunate to have been on first line treatment for five and a half years now. My quality of life is excellent.
I’ve also done breast reconstruction on the mastectomy side, and chose a procedure called a DIEP flap that uses the patient’s own tissue (instead of an implant) after a tummy tuck-like procedure. It took a long time to recover, but I am grateful and happy with the results.
Before all of this happened, I definitely took life and relationships for granted, for a long time. Now every birthday and every holiday is worth celebrating. Every little accomplishment my kids reach — and the fact that I’m here to witness them — makes simple moments twice as valuable. Now that I’m living with metastatic breast cancer, I realize just how lucky I am to be here to experience all of these things.
Our children are now 15, 12 and 5 years old. I experienced milestones that, statistically speaking, I wasn’t supposed to be here for. My son started high school (he is currently a sophomore) and started dating. My oldest daughter is in seventh grade, plays soccer, and just joined a musical theater group. My youngest son, who was just weeks old when I was first diagnosed, has started kindergarten. I still hope to be here for my children’s college graduation and perhaps to do more research, beyond that.
Meanwhile, my family traveled to Costa Rica. We explored the jungle, went snorkeling and zip lining for the first time. My husband and I traveled to Paris and Portugal. In Paris, we saw the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, rode around the city on scooters, and ate a ridiculous amount of pastries. In Portugal, we went kayaking in and around sea caves and walked around castles. Next month we will travel to Greece!