Living a healthier lifestyle was important to me prior to the cancer prognosis, but it became imperative once diagnosed. Living healthier is not just going hard in a gym, but for me it’s about exercise, work-life balance, eating healthier options and more importantly…lots of LAUGHTER. I value my time in the gym and nature walks/runs. I value stepping away from work to enjoy life more. I value eating less cupcakes (notice I didn’t say no cupcakes) and I value each laugh. My life felt shortened when diagnosed, therefore my priorities changed. I decided to live life on purpose and pictured above is one of my favorite places to visit and do just that.

I remember it like it was yesterday, I went to work as normal. It was a busy day at work…as normal. The only difference was, the gynecological doctor’s appointment scheduled for that day. I thought to myself, I don’t really need to go being I was able to get a refill on the birth control I was taking, but in spite of how busy my day was, I decided to go to the doctor for my annual visit. While lying on the examination table, my doctor said, “that feels weird”, while examining my breast. I left my doctor’s office with an order to get a bilateral diagnostic mammogram. On October 30, 2018, I did. The mammogram technologist reviewed my x-ray and after reviewing the x-ray, a nurse walked toward me with Kleenex as the mammogram tech stated, it looks like cancer. I immediately thought, OH MY GOD, which was followed by me asking, what’s the plan?

My plan was to fight, so that same day, I decided to proceed with the advised biopsy. This was definitely a day I was glad my mommy decided to meet me at the hospital, because I had no idea what all was in store. Thank God for mommies…especially mine. I decided to schedule my follow up appointment for November 7…a day before my birthday. I figured the information received from the follow up appointment would be life changing, so why not find out the day before my birthday. Needless to say, I was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer the day before my 39th birthday. So, there I was, sitting in the doctors office with my mom and my best friend trying to grasp as much information as I could and make the best decisions I could. The hardest reality during that visit wasn’t the cancer diagnosis, it was being told everything that would be taken away from me. Possibly losing a breast…maybe both, having a nipple removed and the option to have children. I remember leaving the doctor’s office thinking, I didn’t want to have children, but knowing I can’t have children weighed heavily.

Soooo…I was diagnosed with breast cancer

After surviving the shock of having breast cancer…I thought to myself, I have to fight and what’s the next step? Based upon the size of the tumor and being diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer, radiation therapy and hormone blocker therapy were ideal treatments, but before those treatments, I had to schedule my first surgery ever…a lumpectomy. After pleading with my doctor to save my nipple and advising my doctor to rinse the nipple off with bleach (I was raised thinking bleach could clean and get rid of any and everything, lol) if the nipple had to be removed, then place the nipple back on the breast, the surgery was scheduled for November 26, 2018. Scheduling the surgery after Thanksgiving, allowed me the opportunity to cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family, but before the surgery…more tests!

Have you ever heard of an inter-venous breast MRI? I hadn’t, until I had to. There I was face down on a machine trying not to regurgitate because I knew if I did, I would mess up this fine equipment and I would have to start this process all over. I kept saying, “I am Jones Strong…I am Jones Strong.”

Well, I didn’t regurgitate and more importantly, the cancer was only in one breast.

Then acceptance began, I accepted my diagnosis and accepted what was to come…whatever it may be, I knew I was going to be “ok”.

2 Corinthians 12:9 New International Version (NIV)

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I read 2 Corinthians 12:9 the night before surgery and the morning of. The morning of the surgery, I felt calm, confident and at peace.

The morning after. I made it through surgery, breast still in tact…including my nipple. It was time to heal, and my mommy made sure I was getting my strength back by ensuring I had 3 meals a day…starting with breakfast.

So far, I was so pleased with my medical team and being pleased continued as I met my oncologist on December 24, 2018. This was the day I find out if I would need chemotherapy. Remember, based upon the size of the tumor and the stage of cancer, radiation and hormone therapy appeared to be the only treatments needed, but a MammaPrint test was done to assess the tumor and I walked into the Christmas season, knowing chemotherapy was being added to my “to do” list.

Time to schedule my next surgery…chemotherapy port installation.

port-diagram-swharden.com/med

Joshua 1:7 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

On January 10, 2019, I returned to my home away from home…the hospital because it’s surgery day and I started chemotherapy on January 15, 2019.

Chemotherapy wasn’t what I imagined because I never imagined having cancer and having to fight for my life. I kept telling myself, it could be worse and this is something I just have to go through, but the key was to get through it. To get through it, I prayed, thought positively and laughed…laughed even when I didn’t feel like laughing. Jones Strong.

On to the next treatment, radiation…

The linear accelerator (LINAC) device (as pictured above), was by far the most interesting machine I had ever seen. Fortunately, I thought it was interesting, because I had to see it daily (Monday-Friday) for approximately a month.

Let’s just say, the sound of a bell ringing has a new meaning to me. Life itself has a new meaning. My journey continues and so will my days of living life full of laughter and doing what makes me happy.