Tammy's Story from Virginia

My name is Tammy. I am 44-years-old. I am married to a wonderful man and have two very special little boys, 6 and 7 years old.

In early February, 2007, I was having some pain and swelling in my left breast. I was already scheduled to see my OB/GYN within a couple of weeks for my annual physical but I decided to call the doctor's office to let them know how I was feeling. They scheduled an appointment for me the next day. As soon as the doctor looked at me, he told me that he was fairly sure I had breast cancer, wanted me to have my mammogram done and see a surgeon to have a biopsy done.

On February 20th I was told I have Stage IIIC Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I was told the tumor was too big for them to operate and still have skin to be able to close the area without doing skin graphs so they decided to start chemo to try and shrink the tumor first. I went through four months of chemo and then had a radical mastectomy in August. They removed 10 lymph nodes from under my arm and 6 out of the 10 had cancerous tumors attached. I will be going for scans on October 1st to find out if the cancer has spread to other areas. I am scheduled to start 6-1/2 weeks of radiation this month and will continue with low dose chemo (Herceptin) for the next year.

I am trying my best to continue on with life as normal as possible. I have continued working through it all when possible. I am so very lucky to have employers (friends) that are willing to work with my crazy schedule and/or to let me work from home when needed. I have tried to keep my kids busy with the help of my family so that they do not get upset over what is happening. They were very concerned when I lost my hair...my 6 year old says he likes my "pretend hair" that I wear now.

My husband, kids, family and friends have been wonderfully supportive through this very difficult time. I am very blessed to have an unknown number of people that are willing to pray for me on a daily basis. I have received cards from people I do not even know to let me know that they are praying for me. What a blessing to know that so many people care about what you are going through and are so willing to help.

I don't know what is going to happen next but I am ready for it thanks to the support of my family and friends. I am going to continue to pray and fight every day with the hopes of hearing the news that I am cancer free at some point in the future. Until then, I am going to thank God for each and every day that he gives me to be with my family and to watch my kids grow into the very special loving boys that I know they will be.

Chesapeake, Virginia

Michelle's Story from Wisconsin

My story is about my daughter, Michelle. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2006 at the young age of 27. She had called off her wedding which was planned for 9/23/06 due to growing tension and stress. Then, just two weeks after making that very emotional decision, she found a lump near her armpit. With much reassurance that it probably was a cyst, she did pursue it further with her doctor. She underwent a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI and biopsy and with each passing test the results kept getting worse. She had a bilateral mastectomy on 9/13/06.

I am so proud of my daughter for the strength and wisdom she demonstrated to make very difficult decisions which will impact the rest of her life. She underwent chemotherapy with amazing courage. Rarely did she complain. Through this all she continued to work and tried to maintain a normal lifestyle. In the midst of all this she did rebuild her relationship with her fiancé. They were married at the courthouse in January, after she completed her last round of chemo. They are planning a celebration of their marriage on 9/23/07, one year later.

Michelle continues to struggle with the fear of reoccurrence. She is currently taking tamoxifen with hopes of decreasing her risks; unfortunately this also leaves her unable to even consider children for the next five years. I wish to nominate her because I am so proud of her for the strength and courage she has demonstrated. We have grown much closer through this all. I thank God daily for letting me continue to have her in my life and pray for the chance to have many years ahead to enjoy with her.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Carolyn's Story from Tennessee

I'm Carolyn and I’m 55 years of age. In August, 1997 I was told I had breast cancer. After six months of chemotherapy and one month of radiation, I lived five, yes five, wonderful years to find out again in 2003 that it returned. Having only to take four months of chemotherapy again, I was told in the 5th month, the chemo was the reason I now see a doctor for congestive heart failure.

After going through all of these health problems, I think many would have given up. I have had many wonderful people in my life because of GOD. Several had told me that I'm an angel to them, just seeing me enjoying life after 10, yes 10 years. I love life because I'm a much stronger woman. It's said, "what won't kill you will make you stronger." I'm a stronger woman that you can call "Storm Proof."

Jackson, Tennessee

Michelle's Story from Utah

My name is Michelle and I never thought I would have breast cancer. Like everyone else, I thought it would never happen to me but maybe to people I knew. I felt my lump in Nov. 2005 and went in for my mammogram like I should. It came back fine, which I thought meant it was a fibrous cyst. Then one year later, the lump changed and I went back for another mammogram. This time it showed there was something abnormal, so more testing was needed. This is when my life changed.

On March 26, 2007 I received the diagnosis that I had breast cancer! Wow, what a shock. I was lucky to have some very good doctors who wanted to do half the chemo treatments first so they could reduce the size of the tumor. This worked and in June we went in for a lumpectomy thinking we could get it all. We did not and on July 2 we went back in for a mastectomy. This time we were able to remove the entire tumor. I just finished my last chemo treatment on August 31 and will start radiation in October.

Cedar Fort, Utah

I have been very blessed through out all of this. I have a great husband who has been so supportive through all the doctor visits, surgeries and treatments. He would only allow me one chore a day while I underwent the chemo. He did not want me to get too tired as I am still working through all of this. We have learned so much about ourselves and life and what is really important and also how to help those around us. I feel very fortunate to have had this experience and all that we have learned and been blessed with. I could have done without the cancer and all that comes with it. Hopefully by Christmas we will be back on our feet and cancer free.

LaDonna's Story from Oklahoma

I want everyone to know about my aunt, LaDonna. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. She is a beautiful lady, with whom I've always shared a special closeness. She had found a lump in her breast and went to her family physician a year prior to being diagnosed. Her doctor sent her for a mammogram and told her that everything was fine. But, it wasn't.

The lump continued to grow and she returned to the doctor a year later only to learn that the mammogram she'd had a year earlier showed that the lump should have been biopsied. precious year had passed. Her prognosis was not good. She refused to give up. She underwent a mastectomy with removal of lymph nodes and was told that her cancer was very invasive and that she would have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.

Her positive attitude continued, through chemotherapy, the loss of her hair, fatigue and sickness. She was still trying to live her life as normally as possible, so that her family wouldn't worry about her. She's an inspiration to everyone she knows.

My Aunt LaDonna completed her treatment and was told that she was cancer free. However, that was short lived. She had been having trouble breathing and underwent a PET scan only to find that she had tumors in her lungs. Her doctor here in Oklahoma told her she had about 6 months to live. Again, my Aunt LaDonna would not accept defeat. She decided to go to the MD Anderson Cancer treatment center in Texas. She underwent more tests and giving up has never been an option.

She is not undergoing treatment, however, her tumors are shrinking and no more have been found. Through it all, she has been a comfort and strength to many other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. She visits them, encourages them, and gives them hope. She is truly a hero, in every sense of the word. I love her and want everyone to know what a truly remarkable woman she is.

McLoud, Oklahoma

Linda's Story from Michigan

This is a very short story about a wonderful lady I went to school with back in the day. Here is her webpage with some of her information: http://www.myspace.com/bluyz1966. She is in her forties and a breast cancer survivor.

While she was fighting breast cancer, her son was fighting Leukemia, a survivor at only 18 months old. She has been the glue for our 1984 graduating class. She has also been the most supportive lady, always sharing a kind word, encouragement or praise. She recently helped raise money for a classmate's family who passed away. She is graceful and kind, with a big heart for all, especially others who are cancer survivors.

Dolezan, Michigan

To learn more about Linda visit http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709040301.

A Note from Linda:

GOOD NEWS! Well, I sure wish I had known this for the past two weeks, my goodness I have been through some emotions lately. The Univ. of MI doctors say that my Mom does not have leukemia afterall. She still has the Myelodysplastic Syndrome which can sometimes turn into leukemia and can "mimic" leukemia (*My son Ryan had that and his turned into Leukemia)- Anyway, we are consulting with U of M on alternate chemotherapy treatments to help her with the MDS. Many people have lived with that disease for years. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Linda

Shannon's Story from Florida

My daughter Shannon had breast cancer at age 26 in 2004. They did a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, and then she was on the tamifoxen pill until she got pregnant. She wasn't supposed to get pregnant, her doctor advised her not to, but she did. They wanted her to abort my grandson because the cancer could come back for her or there could be big problems medically or birth defects with the baby. He is beautiful and healthy with no problems.

Because Shannon’s cancer was hormone induced, they did total hysterectomy to keep the cancer from returning. This past July 2007 she would have been 3 years cancer free. But, they found a lump in the same breast and did a double mastectomy on July 20, 2007. She is cancer free again.

Because Shannon was 26 the first time she was diagnosed and we had no family history of breast cancer, the doctors really didn't want to do anything and kept putting her off until we insisted. They felt they caught it in time, but then it came back, so now we are praying it won’t come back after the mastectomy.

Shannon has been through a lot trying to work and take care of her son who is 18 months old now. They won't be able to do reconstruction until next year to make sure they have clear scans and blood work up until then. She is a teacher and did get to go back to work last week.

Ft Myers, Florida