Bianca
It was December 2020, and I was eager to start the new year post Covid
I had previously graduated nursing school and was preparing to start my new career in pediatric nursing. Six months prior, I found a lump in my right breast. I had mentioned this to a gynecologist who assured me it was nothing to worry about. I was a 27-year-old female who was the spitting image of health. Fast forward a few months where I then saw another gynecologist who told me my lump was a benign cyst. My entire body had this overwhelming feeling that something was not right. Even though I was assured my lump was nothing and I had no family history of breast cancer, I still pushed for an ultrasound.
December 8th, 2020, I was diagnosed with stage I triple negative breast cancer.
I met with my oncologist the next day and by the end of the week I was injecting myself with fertility meds to try and freeze my eggs. I was fully determined to do anything I needed to do to get through this. I completed standard chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. I never knew of such a pain, darkness, and desperateness until I laid on the bathroom floor for hours begging for relief. I spent each day looking for the tiniest bit of light to get me through. I was completely lost. I didn’t know who I was anymore, what my beliefs were and who/where to go to for guidance. I started to “clean up” every part of my life. I went through extensive therapy, went to reiki, and tried to deepen my faith. I started to take one singular day at a time and make it a goal to be my best self.
I can honestly say I have hit rock bottom. The most profound thing about hitting such a low is you can only go up from there. I slowly picked myself back up and found my strength and confidence. I was bald, unemployed and the sickest I have ever been and yet I felt so empowered. I learned the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. I had only been off treatment for a few months and was thought to be in the clear. August of 2022, I had a routine CT scan which showed a handful of lung nodules.
Shortly after I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
It was the most devastating day of my life. What most people don’t understand is that metastatic breast cancer is treatable but there is currently no cure. What I learned is it’s not what happens to you in life, but who you become in the process. The character you build, the courage you develop, the faith you are manifesting.
One day I woke up, looked in the mirror and I was a different person. I walk this earth with a different kind of spirit.
As hard as this process has been, I remain grateful because I would never be the person I am today without cancer.
Instagram 300 words
I found a lump and the doctor assured me it was nothing to worry about. I then six months later saw another doctor who told me my lump was a benign cyst. My entire body had this overwhelming feeling that something was not right. Even though I was assured my lump was nothing and I had no family history of breast cancer, I still pushed for an ultrasound.
I was diagnosed with stage I triple negative breast cancer. I was 27 years old. By the end of the week, I was injecting myself with fertility meds to try and freeze my eggs. Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, I never knew of such a pain, darkness, and desperateness until I laid on the bathroom floor for hours begging for relief. I spent each day looking for the tiniest bit of light to get me through. I was completely lost. I didn’t know who I was anymore, what my beliefs were and who/where to go to for guidance. I started to “clean up” every part of my life. I went through extensive therapy, went to reiki, and tried to deepen my faith. I started to take one singular day at a time and make it a goal to be my best self. I can honestly say I have hit rock bottom. The most profound thing about hitting such a low is you can only go up from there. I slowly picked myself back up and found my strength and confidence. I was bald, unemployed and the sickest I have ever been and yet I felt so empowered. I learned the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. A few months later I had a routine CT scan which showed a handful of lung nodules.
I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
It was the most devastating day of my life. What most people don’t understand is that metastatic breast cancer is treatable but there is currently no cure. What I learned is it’s not what happens to you in life, but who you become in the process. The character you build, the courage you develop, the faith you are manifesting. One day I woke up, looked in the mirror and I was a different person. I walk this earth with a different kind of spirit.
