TWELVE YEAR CANCERVERSARY

Happy July… and Happy 12-Year Cancerversary to Me!

Twelve years ago today, I woke up in a hospital bed minus one tumor and two breasts—and honestly, I’ve never felt more grateful. July 1st will always be my day. Not because it was easy, but because it was the day I officially began healing.

If you’re new around here, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer called Triple Negative on June 14th, 2013. Just over two weeks later, I had an 8-hour surgery to remove the tumor and a double mastectomy, followed by chemo and radiation. It was a crash course in strength, surrender, and a little humor.

Triple Negative Breast Cancer—or TNBC—is a particularly tough kind. It doesn’t respond to hormone therapies, which means it grows fast, and your treatment options are limited and aggressive. I had no idea what TNBC even was when I was diagnosed, but here’s the gist: it lacks estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors—so it doesn’t play by the same rules as most breast cancers. It also tends to affect younger women and black women more frequently. Some are diagnosed as young as 20.

Which is why I’ll keep saying this year after year:
 Get your mammograms.
 Check yourself regularly.
 And if something feels off, speak up, push back, and get a second opinion.

My tumor didn’t even show up on a mammogram. A sharp-eyed radiologist saw a suspicious calcification and sent me for a biopsy, and that biopsy saved my life. If he hadn’t looked a little closer, I might not be writing this today.

So, please tell your daughters, daughters-in-law, nieces, granddaughters—every young woman you love—that breast cancer isn’t just for women over 40. Our bodies are exposed to more environmental toxins than ever before, and unfortunately, cancer doesn’t wait for a convenient age. Twelve years later, I’m still here. Still healthy. Still grateful.
And still passionate about helping women walking this same path.

One of the most unexpected gifts of my diagnosis has been connecting with others going through breast cancer. If you know someone who could use a little encouragement or someone to talk to, I’m always here. I didn’t have that when I was going through it, and I’d be honored to offer it to someone else.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t trade the experience (but I don’t recommend it either!). It changed me for the better. It cracked me wide open and filled me with a deeper sense of purpose, perspective, and peace. You’d think after all this time I’d run out of things to say — but the truth is, the gratitude never gets old!

Here’s to 12 years of life after cancer—and to never taking a single day for granted.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and a fun Fourth of July! Stay safe and Be well!

DRESS // SANDALS (similar)