October ~ Breast Cancer Awareness~

We all know every October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I try to wear pink every day in order to show my subtle support for a dear friend of mine, Kate, who is currently battling breast cancer and my cousin who lost her battle with it several years back.  My grandmother had it, and I have had my own scare with it. And while I was in the waiting area a few years ago awaiting to undergo my own biopsy, I sat in the hall way with a young lady in her 20's who had just been told she had it.  In her 20's!!!  What the heck?!?!    So many lives are touched by this as well as other cancers!  I hate cancer!  So because breast cancer has touched so closely to home for me, I want to advocate for it as much as possible!

Fact:  Did you know that 50-75% of breast cancers begin in the milk ducts.  10-15% begin in the lobules.  A few begin in other breast tissues.  This and other breast cancer facts and statistics can be found at: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/WhatisBreastCancer.html 

I want to share with you my friend Kate's Story....Kate is my hero!  

There was a girl named Kate. And a boy named Steve. They were both firefighters and EMTs that worked together and they fell in love. Kate found out she was pregnant, and life was good. Kate and Steve went for their first ultrasound and found our that their baby, a daughter, was very sick. Kate and Steve named their baby girl Shannon. Shannon was born and went straight to the neonatal intensive care unit where she lived for 3 beautiful days. Kate and Steve's hearts broke and they started to try again but were met with more heartache when their pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Then Steve decided to follow his dream of becoming a police officer. As Steve started the police academy, Kate found out she was pregnant again. They welcomed a set of twin girls, Grace and Lily, 6 weeks early. Grace and Lily spent 2 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit before they came home. Life was good again. When Grace and Lily were almost a year old, Kate and Steve found out they were expecting again, and to their dismay, doctors said they would lose the baby because of two pregnancy complications. The baby held on, and they named him Stephen Jay (SJ). Stephen was born nearly 8 weeks premature after Kate nearly hemorrhaged to death. Stephen had a rough first year, and had many health problems but Steve found a full time job at a great station, the family moved to a wonderful neighborhood and life was good yet again. When SJ was almost 3, he was diagnosed with a plethora of conditions that required intensive speech and physical therapy 6 times a week. Kate noticed a mass in her breast but was focused on SJ and getting him on track. Just when the family started to adjust and life was good again, Kate started to notice a lot of changes in her breast and decided to make an appointment to get it checked out. At only 28 her biopsy revealed breast cancer and Kate was sent to have scans of the rest of her body. Only a week after her 29th birthday Kate was admitted to the hospital. Then Steve and Kate received the worst news of their lives: Cancer was found in both of Kate's breasts, her liver, right shoulder joint, right ribs, and three places in her Thoracic spine down through her Lumbar spine in to her pelvis. Kate was officially fighting Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer and had a less than 5% chance of her ever being "cured". A couple months in to he treatment, Kate was diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare disorder that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer, particularly in children and young adults.

Please follow Kate and her journey at:

http://www.thechroniclesofcancer.com/