In May of 2001 I found a lump that was almost in my right armpit. It was sore and very deep under the skin. My husband could feel it too. I called and made an appointment with my OB/GYN. He thought it was a lymph node. I gave him the background of having an Aunt diagnosed with Breast Cancer (twice) as well the story of my friend who lost the battle to this beast 6 months after the birth of her daughter. She was also 30 and pregnant when diagnosed. He sent me down to the women’s imaging center to have an ultrasound to ease my mind. I think I already knew that I had cancer.

 

The radiologist thought it was a swollen lymph node. However he was not 100% sure and gave me the option of waiting 6 months or having a biopsy. I asked him what he would tell his wife and he recommended the biopsy. I scheduled a fine needle biopsy for the next week. A couple of days before my appointment I met with the Surgeon that my OB/GYN recommended. He was great but of course due to my age he did not expect the biopsy to show anything. I had the biopsy on a Tuesday and he called me the next day with the news. I had Breast Cancer.

It is hard to describe how I felt at that time. Of course I was devastated but I could just not understand how my body was currently growing and nurturing a new life while harboring these cells that could kill me. All I could think about was my unborn child. I was so happy about the baby and so angry and scared about the cancer.

 

The rest of the year was a roller coaster ride. My surgeon gave me my options for surgery and I decided on a lumpectomy. Due to the pregnancy I wanted to be under anesthesia for the least amount of time. In June 2001 I had the lumpectomy with the node dissection. My tumor was 1.2 cm, invasive ductal carcinoma, very aggressive and hormone negative. The margins were clean and 23/23 nodes were clear.

 

Due to the nature of my tumor my host of doctors recommended four rounds of A/C chemotherapy with radiation. I would begin the chemo in my third trimester. My oncologist had decided to follow the protocol from MD Anderson on chemo and pregnant women. I found it very discouraging that I found very little information on pregnancy and breast cancer.

 

I started chemo at the end of June. 14 days after my first treatment my hair began to fall out. I had a shaving party with my best friend and my husband. We cut all my hair off and shaved my head. I felt blessed that I have a nice shaped head. It was a very surreal moment in time.

 

June, July and August were filled with doctor appointments to the OB/GYN, the surgeon and the cancer center, chemo treatments, blood work and baby preparations. We found out we were having a boy. I was bald and pregnant. It was too hot to wear a wig so I never covered my head. People would give me the strangest looks. No one every asked why I was bald. I would rub my belly then rub my head. It was worth it if would enable me to live.

 

I was lucky and tolerated chemo very well. Most of the problems I had could also have been related to the pregnancy. The side effects were similar so I just had a double whammy of the fatigue. We walked every day. I was amazed at the support I received from my co-workers, my friends and family.

 

In September 2001 I had my last chemo treatment. Conor was born on September 21st. I was still bald but he was born with a head full of hair. I figured God decided to bless me with a relative easy labor after all that I had been through over the past several months. Conor was beautiful and perfect. I started my 33 rounds of radiation in October 2001 and finished at the beginning of December. I was done with treatment. Now what?

 

I currently do not have any evidence of disease, but I am very concerned that the cancer will return and I will not be here to raise my son. Conor is almost a year and developing normally. I thank God for him every day. I go to the doctors about every 4 to 6 months. I am paranoid that the cancer will return and I will not be here to raise my son and grow old with my husband.

 

I have become very active with the YSC in the hopes that new treatments, detection devices and research will find a cure so that I can become a grandparent and that my niece and other young women will never have to face the ordeal that I have. I am determined that we will WIN.