A cancer scare six years ago led Len to be vigilant about his health. So, when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he immediately went to his doctor. A biopsy revealed it was stage II breast cancer.
“I thought I was going to die,” he said, remembering his initial reaction.
Every year Ouidad—a renowned hair stylist who created a company that bears her name—gets a mammogram around the time of her birthday. It’s a routine rooted in loss. Her mother died of metastatic breast cancer when Ouidad was 25 years old.
Tracy McNeal remembers the morning clearly. The mother of three woke up and felt a pea-sized lump on her breast. She decided to have it checked out immediately.
When Valorie Kondos Field learned she had breast cancer, one of her first thoughts was her students. As the former head coach of the UCLA Gymnastics Team, she wanted to use her experience to educate others.
When Natalie Rivera was 19 years old, she learned she carried the BRCA1 genetic mutation. The news wasn’t a complete shock: Both her grandmother and mother had breast cancer.
Priscilla Brastianos grew up hearing stories about her grandmother – a medical student who was diagnosed with breast cancer in her early twenties. Even with metastatic breast cancer she continued to practice medicine.
Carly and her mom are inseparable. Despite their cross-country distance – Maryland to California – they speak every day. So when Carly learned her mother was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer, she couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.
When Emily walked into her doctor’s office for a routine exam, her physician felt a lump on her breast. At 32, the mother and attorney was shocked to learn she had breast cancer.
Nearly two decades ago, Constance Boll found a malignant lump on her breast. At the time, she was raising her granddaughter, Sarah, and she didn’t want the diagnosis to get in the way.
“I met the news head on,” Constance said referring to her breast cancer diagnosis.
When Kelley Tuthill learned she was pregnant with her third child, the news came to her as a two-fold surprise.