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Everyone on my father¡¯s side of the family has died of cancer ¡ª my dad of prostate cancer, my grandpa of lung cancer, and my grandma of kidney cancer. So I always suspected I would get it someday, too.

Still, it came as a shock when I was diagnosed with a type of breast cancer called infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma last fall. I started feeling a lump in my left breast while nursing my son in July. I thought it was just a cyst, but even after I began weaning Braxon in October, it didn¡¯t go away. In fact, the lump seemed to be getting bigger, so I called my gynecologist.

Because the lump wasn¡¯t hard, my doctor didn¡¯t think it was anything bad initially. But he sent me for a mammogram and an ultrasound anyway. After looking at the scans, he ordered a biopsy. The lump turned out to be cancerous.

My stage IV breast cancer diagnosis

I work for Jason¡¯s Deli, and we¡¯ve been fundraising for MD Anderson for a few years, so I knew that¡¯s where I wanted to go for my breast cancer treatment. I made an appointment right away at MD Anderson in Katy, because it¡¯s the location closest to my home in Kyle, Texas. A PET scan there revealed that the cancer had already spread to my pelvis and spine. I had stage IV breast cancer.

I don¡¯t think I really understood what those words meant when I first heard them. But once I did, I was terrified. I was only 32. And I wanted to see my kids grow up and find out who they¡¯d become. Suddenly, I didn¡¯t know if that would be possible. But said not to be discouraged, because there were many, many treatment options available.

Why I chose a Phase III clinical trial for my breast cancer treatment

Genetic testing revealed that I carry both the BRCA2 and the CHEK2 mutations, so one of my options was a Phase III clinical trial. I¡¯d receive the usual treatment for breast cancer ¡ª a chemotherapy cocktail of carboplatin and paclitaxel ¡ª plus a PARP inhibitor (or targeted therapy) called Veliparib. Carboplatin works very well in patients with the BRCA mutation, and Veliparib targets my specific genetic mutations, so I decided to do it.

After only five months on the clinical trial, I had a near complete response. My tumor shrank by almost 75%. I had my double mastectomy on June 27, 2017, and I finished 30 rounds of standard radiation in early October. I plan to have breast reconstruction next summer, too, if all goes well.

My cancer tested 99% estrogen positive, so I also had a full hysterectomy and oophorectomy on November 2. When I look back on my life, I never want to say, ¡°Well, I should have done this to keep the cancer from coming back.¡± Hormones are clearly driving this bus, so my ovaries had to go.

Look at your family history

I refuse to live in the land of ¡°what ifs,¡± but if I had known I had the BRCA and CHEK mutations sooner, I definitely would¡¯ve started getting checked for cancer long before I found the lump.

That¡¯s why I tell everybody to look at their family history. Because if you have a lot of cancer on either side, being proactive rather than reactive can change the game. And if you notice a change in your body, get it checked out. You¡¯ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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