“You have stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer” ... Words can’t ever truly describe how this diagnosis changed me and my family, our focus and our fight. But let me start at the beginning.
My name is Raquel and my story began on January 25, 2007 at the age of 37, when I was diagnosed with stage 3A breast cancer. There was no “history” of breast cancer in my family and I never imagined I would have to fight this battle. This was a time when I should have been focusing on potty training my 2-year-old and helping my 8-year-old with her Girl Scout troop. Instead, our family was thrust into a whole new world. A world of doctor appointments, tests, scans and doctor speak…. Estrogen positive, Progesterone positive, Her2 negative, 6 of 19 lymph nodes positive, persistent invasive lobular carcinoma 7cm tumor, lobular carcinoma in situ 1m, etc…..
So with 2 young daughters my husband and I really only had one focus and that was to do everything we could to fight cancer. We had no idea what we were up against. So we hunkered down. That year was a blur filled with 6 different surgeries, 8 rounds of chemo and 34 rounds of radiation all by September 2007. It was then that I finally felt like I had won the fight, when my doctors let me know that I showed “No Evidence of Disease” (NED). I immersed myself in life, working, volunteering, spending time with family and simply living.
It was in September of 2012, just one week shy of my 5-year cancer-free anniversary, when my doctor shared that my cancer had progressed to stage 4 and was now in my bones and lung.
“You have stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer”….. Words can’t ever truly describe how this diagnosis changed me and my family, our focus and our fight. For me, it was no longer about seeing it as a fight, instead it was a refocus of how I was going to live. It was about living and laughing, and it was about loving with all that I have today because today I am living with cancer. For me, it’s about focusing my life and prioritizing my moments. Life is full of moments, good ones, bad ones; the difference for me is choosing how I focus on any of those moments and feeling hopeful while I move forward in my life.
Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer
What is different for my family and me now is that this time we are informed and fully aware of what we have in front of us. Today, my cancer has progressed and the tumors are growing. I started a new treatment plan in April 2014 which includes a daily oral chemotherapy and hormone therapy. On May 15th 2014, I was taken to the ER with a severe infection due to my compromised immune system and had emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder. I have been working with my oncologist to try and stabilize my treatment plan. This is just part of my new normal. While cancer may try to knock me down, I choose to continue to move forward and I was able to get out of the hospital in time to watch my daughter’s Girl Scout year-end ceremony as she earned another pin for her work.
My new normal is that I live with the fact that I have cancer – it does not have me. I work full time in a job that I love; I travel as often as I can; and I have the opportunity to volunteer with many different organizations.
Recently (September 2014) my CT scans showed further progression of my disease. I now have metastases in my ribs but I am hopeful we will be able to stabilize the progression and treatment plan soon; and I am working on managing the pain. In the meantime, I continue to work at my job and I volunteer when I am able, which allows me time to give back and feel fulfilled. One of the things I am truly proud of is the time I spent as a Girl Scout leader.
My perspective is that it’s important to keep moving forward, living, laughing and loving. And it’s important to spend time doing the things that make you happy and knowing that one person can make a difference. I am intentionally thinking about my future. I think about my daughters – their graduations, their marriages and even one day when I get to meet my grandchildren. I still dream about growing old with my husband and renewing our wedding vows on our 25th wedding anniversary in November of 2014. I look forward to traveling and helping others who may be struggling to find hope due to having a disease that has not yet found a cure.
I don’t consider myself a “survivor” or a “fighter” – instead I am someone who has a strong faith and who keeps moving forward no matter what comes my way as I live, work and volunteer as I Live with Metastatic Breast Cancer.
