There’s so much irony in my story, I still can’t believe it.

I have a healthcare marketing background and have worked in various therapeutic areas over the last 20 years, including oncology. I’m a healthy 46-year-old woman. I eat well, work out with a personal trainer, and I’ve ran maybe 100 half marathons and seven full marathons. I’m surrounded by so many younger people in my office who eat poorly, don’t workout, etc. and they look at me like the healthy one!

I currently manage marketing campaigns for a breast implant brand on the ad agency side. Being in healthcare marketing my entire career, the idea of working on a breast implant brand was strange to me.

I’ve always worked on marketing campaigns for medicines that treat serious diseases/conditions. The thought of working on something so far removed from that was just bizarre. But then I was asked to focus on breast reconstruction, and from then on, I was hooked.

My mother is a breast cancer survivor and she/we didn’t understand all of her options; her options were also very different from what is available today. I saw this as an opportunity to really understand not only breast cancer, but also what women endure when they are diagnosed, through the treatment phase and then how someone puts your life back together. So I jumped in 100 percent, and my brand has done amazing work with real patients.  Meeting them, telling their stories, getting to know them and really partnering with them.

We’ve created a beautiful tribe of patients I am proud to work with and proud to call my friends.  We’ve partnered with amazing organizations like METAvivor and Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) to support the community.  And I’m fully and completely in love with the work I do in this space.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would be diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma!

At the office, we are mostly an all female team.  Sometimes when we are sitting in a video shoot, listening to a patient tell her story, we discuss it afterwards and ask ourselves “what would you do?” type questions. It’s amazing how the answers just roll off your tongue in a sense, including for me.

Until, I was knee deep in it.

Even having the knowledge I have from working in this space over the last few years, everything you hear is so overwhelming and you have to make decisions so quickly. I have learned so much more in the last two months.

The truth is, I’m lucky — of all the cancers to get, I get the one I’m most knowledgeable about and can basically take full control of my path moving forward. I knew what to ask surgeons and oncologists. It’s so scary listening to people telling you about your health, what to do with your body and most of the time just speaking, not listening or even asking how you feel.

But I’m thankful in the end because I was able to advocate for myself and choose what was right for me.

I’ve had amazing AMAZING partners by my side: my surgeons, my holistic doctors, my oncologists, nutritionists, etc.  And my cancer was caught at an early stage, so all looks good for me. I’m done with surgery for now and next, I have to start hormone therapy.  I know I have a whole new normal to think about.

I feel different emotions each day and I have a range of questions in my head that I’m still sorting out the answers to. But I’ve decided to try my best to accept this as a blessing and a wake up call to prioritize self care and most importantly, SELF LOVE, which unfortunately, as busy women today, that is last on our list.

I’m hoping to learn from all of this — each and every day moving forward, letting the universe do its thing, as I understand my purpose. I’d love to be able to speak to other women and help in any way I can.

I know it’s not easy at all.

This entire episode has truly made me see things from an entirely new perspective and appreciate the work that I do even more, but mostly appreciate ME for who I am.