Doing my monthly home checks, I noticed a lump about the size of a marble. It didn’t hurt but then I also had blood in my breast discharge. I went to get it checked out and due to only being 35 I had never had a mammogram. Fast forward, I was thrown into a whirlwind of appointments ranging from mammogram, ultrasound, biopsies, a PET scan, bone scan and MRI. After it was all completed I was diagnosed with stage 2a invasive ductal carcinoma, HER2+ that had also spread into my lymph nodes. I could only feel one tumor but it was determined that I had a total of eight cancerous spots.I have undergone six rounds of chemotherapy which put me in the hospital. It was very tough, especially while still being a mother to five children (ages 16, 12, 10, 8, 3) and also a wife. After completing chemo, I had a double mastectomy and am currently completing thirty rounds of radiation along with immunotherapy every three weeks for a year. If it all lines up correctly, I will be eligible for reconstruction six months after radiation. I will also have to take medicine for five years, along with an estrogen blocker.
Shameika’s LifeList:
-
Family vacation