Christina C’s Story

I was 29 years old the first time I was diagnosed with cancer. I had no family history, no genetic markers and no risk factors — just a small lump in my left breast. Because I had “no reason” to have cancer, the medical system I was in didn’t see it as a priority to get me imaged. I was placed on a six-month waitlist.

My doctor called and encouraged me to find a place that could see me sooner. I ended up searching Google for anyone who would take me. My first ultrasound happened in a strip mall, in a shop next to a bowling alley. They still wouldn’t give me a mammogram, since it wasn’t standard procedure, but an ultrasound was better than nothing.

That same strip mall clinic soon ordered a biopsy, and when the results came back, the doctor called with the news — right in the middle of my workday. I transferred to my current cancer center and began treatment: a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

I’m so, so glad I had the confidence to advocate for myself. If I hadn’t, the outcome could have been very different.

Three years later, I found out my cancer is back — this time under very different circumstances. My marriage has ended, so I’m doing this without a partner. I’m living alone in a walk-up. I just started a new career that I now have to pause. I’m preparing for a major surgery that absolutely terrifies me.

I’m 32 now and was just starting to get my life back together — trying to clean up the fallout from the first diagnosis. I’m heartbroken that I can’t move forward just yet.

-Christina