Until It does…

I certainly didn’t. When it did, I didn’t fully understand what it truly meant. Hearing “you have cancer” is an experience that can’t be appreciated through someone else’s words. Although the terms used to frame the feelings are all very, very similar:  “I stopped listening,” “It felt like a punch in the gut,” and “the world stopped.” All of those (and more) are true. Then for others, it’s a whole other level of nightmare. It may not come for years; it may never come at all. I, however, unknowingly woke up one hot August morning in 2013 and became one of the 6-10% that find themselves in that unholy nightmare of Metastatic Breast Cancer.

The median lifespan for Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) is 18-36 months. There have been many new advances in medications for specific genetic mutations and pathologies, but there is still a very long way to go. 43,780 men and women in the United States are expected to die in 2022 from Metastatic Breast Cancer¹. That’s 120 people EVERY DAY. In comparison, 40,566 women died from MBC in 1989.

So, what can be done? There is so much that can be done, and it starts with the person looking back at you in the mirror. Share YOUR story. Share a friend’s story. Choose NOT to buy something PINK. Get to know The Cancer Couch, Hold a fundraiser, or Check out CureKomen.org. 

Or drop me a line and ask!