Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Houston, Texas is a 5k walk for breast cancer survivors and their supporters. The event raises money for breast cancer research, patient education, and patient services that The American Cancer Society provides. Some of the services that they provide for patients are lodging, transportation, and wigs. The event involved hundreds of people. To me, the walk means hope. It gives hope to survivors that they can keep surviving. The event had tons of fun energy and excitement. There was Zumba, food trucks, and patient education booths. Britta Merwin with KPRC channel 2 was emceeing the event. She has a lot of energy and is passionate about helping breast cancer patients. I got to share my story on stage and I was also interviewed again by channel 2 at the event. Some of my best friends along with my children attended the event. It was heartwarming to see the large group of people at the event.
My story
I used to be a counselor for breast cancer patients and that is how I first got involved with the walk. I felt a lump in my breast myself and had it checked out by a radiologist. The radiologist told me that it was a fibroid and nothing to worry about. I had a bad gut instinct about it so I went to another provider for a second opinion. That provider told me that it was nothing to worry about also. I demanded a biopsy and was later diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. My world stopped and my heart broke. I thought, how could I have cancer at the age of 32? I wanted to be alive to watch my 1 and 3 year old daughters grow up. I decided to take my own advice and stay positive. I was going to win this battle! After completing 6 months of chemo, a mastectomy, 6 weeks of radiation, and hormone therapy I can say that I’m winning the battle! Always follow your intuition!
