Breast cancer….chile, where do I even start?!

Well, I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Tatiana Wortham and I’m a 26-year-old esthetician from Boston, Massachusetts, currently living in the DMV area. I moved out here in 2011, I went to Howard for undergrad (H-U! YOU-KNOW!) and never left.

At the beginning of 2018, I began experiencing some bleeding coming from my nipple and, well, if you’re here I’m sure you know how the story goes. Within two weeks, I had been mammogrammed, ultrasounded, biopsied and diagnosed with stage II ductal carcinoma. As the daughter of a two-time breast cancer survivor, it felt like all my worst nightmares had come true.

I felt betrayed by my own body.

After going through three procedures and dealing with chemo, as you all already know, it took a huge toll on my body and especially my self-esteem. I hadn’t even started radiation yet!

For a while, I sat around wondering what I’d do with my life after cancer. I had no idea how I’d rebuild myself. So I decided to take a trip.

About a year ago, when I had a good few days between doctor’s appointments, I hightailed it to Delaware to stay with my best friend.

I just needed a break, you know? Some solace.

So when I got there, I turned all the notifications off on my phone and tucked myself away. There I was able to reflect on myself, how I was feeling, and coming to terms that my life would never be as it was before DX-day.

After dealing with all that mental labor, the next task was to answer a very simple, but daunting question: So, now what? I thought back to things I love and am passionate about.

I got to thinking, really reflecting on my life and the things that made me happy. My mom bought my first extraction kit when I was about 12-years-old, and I had just started really getting hit with puberty and videos like that somehow made me feel better. The habit grew stronger as time went on and around my friends I was notorious for pulling them to me as I attacked their faces.

Thinking back to those moments, and even now possessing the same habits, I thought about how I could turn my passion into something that also made me money.

I thought about how happy making music made me, how I found joy in helping others and how much I love watching pimple popping videos (LOL yes, you read correctly).

I thought about how I wanted a safe haven for women like me, where BC Warriors could be pampered, leaving feeling and looking better than when they arrived.

I knew in order to make that dream come true, I’d have to figure out how to establish a spa of sorts. Working in retail for almost ten years, customer service for me is second nature. My mom always told me I have a “servant’s heart,” and it’s true–I love making people happy!

So I decided to figure out how I could make my love work for me.

After lots of soul searching and research, I decided that I should pursue my esthetician’s license. Right then and there, I wrote my letter of intent and submitted my application to Aveda Institutes of Arts & Sciences in DC. A few days later, I was asked to do a phone interview and take a tour of the campus.

I couldn’t believe it!

Within two weeks, on the anniversary of my second lumpectomy, I was signing my admission papers. When they told me I would receive financial aid, I bawled right there in that office. I couldn’t believe it was real!

Within a month, I was starting school. From May to September, I hustled like never before. Working 30 hours a week and being in school another 30 hours a week definitely began to take a toll on my body and my mind.

But I told myself I couldn’t quit.

I knew that in order for me to begin to manifest my dream, I’d have to make sacrifices including, going out with friends and all of my usual summer plans. I’d already missed out on summer last year, so what was another one?

On September 28, I graduated from Aveda Institutes DC!

I can definitely say through all the pain, fear and uncertainty, a rose grew from the concrete.