My name is Courtney, I’m a 37 year old mom to 2 of the most amazing kids (Ethan ~ 7 and Maisy ~ 6). I am a woman of many hats! A mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, niece, cousin, and last but not least, a breast cancer warrior and a survivor. 

4 years ago, I came home from the best beach day with my kids and I felt a lump on my left breast while i was in the shower. My heart dropped into my stomach and for some reason i knew right away life as i knew it was over.  I work in a hospital doing ultrasounds, I LOVE what i do! I LOVE being able to help people and making hard times a little easier. I NEVER in a million years thought i would be on the other side as a patient but here I am. I came into work that Sunday morning August 30th and laid on the table as my friend scanned the lump i felt. I watched the screen as Boom, boom, boom, boom,  all these masses appeared on the screen. It didn’t hit me until the next day when i got the mammo done and they showed me that half of my left boob, 11cm, was covered in cancer and 3 lymph nodes looked suspicious. I had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in my left breast. Estrogen + , HER 2 +. Stage 3.  I was numb and I just cried. I cried for me, for my parents, for my husband but mostly i cried for my babies. They didn’t know me at all. THEY NEED ME. I cried for 2 weeks straight until i had no more tears left. My life quickly became a warped schedule of appointments and I just showed up wherever i was told. I felt a lot of grief and lost a lot of myself during this time but i would do anything to have it not effect my kids.   My husband and I both work full time and take care of the kiddies (who were 2 and 3 at the time) we live a non stop life as all parents do! Who has time for a diagnosis like this!!!!! Or has the money to pay for medical bills on top of regular bills coming in!?!?! Let alone the thought of dying without my kids knowing me and me knowing them. That was the first thing i knocked off my list, not a shot in hell i was letting this disease defeat me, i would do ANYTHING to stay alive, be with my kids, and to watch them grow, make sure they are happy, healthy, kind, amazing people. I was and am a force to be reckoned with, to say the least, i will do anything for Ethan and Maisy. There’s a lot of grimy details that go along with cancer, the treatments, the side effects and the surgeries. A lot of things have gone wrong and a lot of things have went well over the past few years but if i have learned anything, it is to roll with it. Life is about getting over hurdles and coming out stronger. We all have setbacks in life, some more intense than others, but they all carry importance. All that matters is that you see the silver lining and move forward.