When Dana emailed me a few months ago with her story, I dropped all my poopie diapers and was overcome with gratitude for the simplicity in the hand of cards I've been dealt. Here's a little mommy worth adding to your list of daily reads.
Hi everyone! I am so excited to sponsor Bringing Up Bumble for the month of July. Like many of you, I have been following Meghann’s blog for a while, reading her helpful tips/advice about pregnancy and enjoying watching Carter grow from a tiny baby into an adorable toddler!
I am a proud mother of a healthy, happy, 10-month-old boy named Ryan, who is truly the greatest blessing in my life. I love photography, fashion, cooking, and planning fun things to do with my baby boy. But there is something about me that is not typical of other young moms.
During my pregnancy, I developed breast cancer at only 26 years old.
I was diagnosed this past January. Since then, I have gone through months of chemotherapy treatments, lost all of my hair, had a double mastectomy surgery, and am now undergoing breast reconstruction. Although my husband and I want another child, the chemotherapy drugs that I had cause infertility. But we are not giving up hope. These are the most difficult challenges that I have ever had to face, but they have also given me a fresh, positive outlook and appreciation for my life. The best news is that I am now cancer free! I am thrilled to have been given a second chance at life and I am so thankful that Ryan will get a chance to grow up knowing how much his mommy loves him.
I write my blog to share my story, with hopes to spread breast cancer awareness to other young women. So many of us are told that we are too young to get breast cancer, but this is simply not true. When I found a lump in my breast, the doctors said that I had nothing to worry about because of my age. I waited to have it taken out until after my pregnancy, because I didn’t want them to operate on me with the baby inside. But in that short amount of time, the small lump quickly grew into stage 2 cancer.
As young women, we have to speak up, be our own advocates, and closely monitor our breasts through weekly self-exams. My goals are to educate other young women about the importance of early detection and to reach out to anyone else who has been diagnosed. Visit me at DanasPinkRibbon to read about my story and my life now as I adjust to a “new normal” with my soon-to-be toddler.
