Breast Cancer Led Me to Quit My Real Estate Career and Become an Author

I’ve never been good at doing breast self-exams. But one day in 2018, I had the idea to check my breasts while I was in the shower and I felt something. I had just turned 40 and my daughters, Autumn and Lily, were one and five. When I felt the lump, I thought maybe it was related to recently having a baby. I asked my husband, Oren, to smell it, and he thought I should get it checked. A few years earlier, I had felt something in the opposite breast that turned out to be fibroids, and when I called my gynecologist, she told me it was probably the same thing. But after feeling it herself, she said, “Let’s schedule a mammogram.” »

The crazy thing is, I originally scheduled a 3D mammogram because it’s more thorough. But it was going to take weeks to get an appointment, and I kept wondering if waiting was a good idea. I left the doctor’s office, only to return immediately and ask if there was a way to accommodate me earlier. They told me I could have a regular mammogram that week and if they saw anything they would take more pictures, so it would be similar to the 3D scan. Thank goodness I chose this route, because from the mammogram I could tell pretty quickly that something was wrong. After the imaging, the radiologist came immediately and asked if I had another hour to do a biopsy. That’s when I started to panic. The nurse literally held my hand through all of this. A biopsy is so uncomfortable; I remember this horrible click.

They told me I would probably hear something the next day. That afternoon I was at my daughter’s swimming class and I still hadn’t heard back. It was 3:45 p.m. – if you experience something like this, you never forget details like exact times – when I decided to call them. The nurse didn’t see any results but said she would check. Then she picked up the phone again and said, “I’m so sorry. You have breast cancer.”

I was in shock. I called my husband and told him to come home. I grabbed Lily from her lesson and took her and Autumn to the car, where I started bawling. Lily asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?” And I said, “Everything’s going to be okay. Mom’s going to be okay. Mom’s going to be okay.” I just kept repeating this over and over again. I don’t even remember coming home.

As I began to understand the news, I called my family and friends, but not my parents; They were on vacation and I didn’t want to ruin their trip. It was difficult because I talk to my mother almost every day. I had to play along, texting them that I was really busy. Fortunately, they knew that I worked a lot. I was in real estate and property management, which is a 24/7 job. So I texted my mom: “I’m with a client. I’ll call you later!” When they got home, my brother and I arrived at their house and I immediately broke down. I said to myself, “Mom, I have breast cancer. » We were all panicking. But I knew I was incredibly lucky that my parents had a second home near mine in Phoenix. They did a lot to help me get through the first year of treatment. Many people don’t have this extra support, and I’m very grateful that they do.

I was initially diagnosed with stage 1 cancer and told the tumor was small. I immediately started interviewing doctors. My husband and I went to one appointment after another: breast surgeons, oncologists, plastic surgeon. After the fourth oncologist, he wondered, “Is this our last?” It turned out to be the case. When Dr. Brendan Curley arrived, he gave me a big hug and said, “We’re going to fight this. You’re going to live for your babies.” I knew he was my oncologist. Now, I always tell people with breast cancer: you’re going to stay with this doctor for the long term; you must feel that warm and fuzzy feeling.