I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33 years old in January of 2020. I received six months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, multiple surgeries due to infections, and radiation. I had to navigate chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation during the height of COVID, which means I did everything alone – every hospital stay, chemotherapy infusion, etc were done alone.
In 2021, it was determined that the cancer had spread to my bones and I had radiation on my hip. Another PET scan in 2022 determined it had spread to my sternum, hip, and shoulder. I had chemotherapy for eight months. It’s been an insanely hard battle and I thought I beat cancer in 2020, but I am officially stage IV breast cancer and I will forever be in treatment until my body no longer responds to the chemotherapy.
Karen’s LifeList:
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Family portraits
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Family trip to Great Wolf Lodge
- iPad