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8 2 0 1 4 B r e a s t H e a l t h S e c t i o n Special Advertising Section as diagn sed with breast ca ncer i nd felt blindsided e me mber sta nding in fr n f the plastic su rge n while he was assessing my a nat my t etermine what my rec nstru cti pti ns were. t was s u rreal a n elt s a use u a nted t mit. At that ti m new n ne wh ad had breast ca ncer elt very al ne a nd is lated. as a ma rried 42-yea r- ld fe male. We had a n ad ra ble tw -yea r- ld s n, Caleb, a n as s afrai f dying a nd leaving my fa mily behind. The intense fea r was du e t he fa ct tha st a dea r friend t l n ca ncer just a few m nths pri r t y diagn sis. Her na me wa ea nette R ney a nd she left behind a l ving husba nd a nd three bea utiful children. My experiences with my su rgical tea m i ere very sterile a nd clinical a nd the bedside ma n ner was appalling a k ba c n it n w. Whe as rediagn sed i , ne uld n t be using the m f r my next su rgery idn't trust the m. sed every c nta c ad in the medical c m mu nity t ick my new medical tea m. As a resul d's gra ce a nd mercy as a ble t in r. Matt Br wn as my general su rge n a n r n Stevens as m nc l ist. My advice t ny pers n diagn sed with breast ca ncer is t sk y u r fa mily a nd friends f r their rec m mendati ns f r medical pr viders t depen nl n y u r P B/Gyn referrals. Als , if y u r su rge n i ffended beca use y u wa nt a sec n pini n, find y u rself a n ther su rge n btaining a sec n pini n is just g d medicine t gives y u, the patient, pea c f mind a nd sh uld c nfirm the first su rge n's diagn sis a nd treat ment pla n. Als , i ealized that a st r ad su bmitted a b ut my breast ca ncer diagn sis f r a c ntest, wa n th nternet f r a ny ne t ee whe led my na me. The well- kn wn l ca rga nizati n refused t elp me. S ea che ut t a ncy Brinker, C f K men, via e mail. She ca me t he rescu e within a day a nd she used her c nta cts a le t et my inf rmati n re m ved fr m th nternet we her a deb f gratitude. Gilda's Clu b has als een w nderful t y fa mily a n u ring my ca ncer j u rney. In 2014, there were more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have fnished treatment. Breast cancer survivors make up the largest group of U.S. cancer survivors. Five local women share their stories of inspiration . n Au gus , just whe as hitting the pri m f my life, the u ni magina ble happened ut my h m n the ma rket in Lexingt n ad just m ved t uisville ' ne week int y new j b. And, it's three m nths u ntil my wedding day. uldn't be happier. Then literall vernight, in walks breast ca ncer u nd a lu mp while sh werin ne day. This i bvi usly n t s methin la n ned f r in my ca rds t's a n u nderstate ment t ay this a bs lutely rattled me t he c re ad n a mily hist ry a n as way t u ng. B ater lea rned that breast ca ncer d esn't discri minat n age. Al uld think a b ut was getting the tu m f m uickly 'd had all the tests in the w rld d ne, a nd n w it was a b ut re m ving the ca ncer xa ctly nine days fr m my dat f diagn sis ent in f r a lu mpect my a nd lymph n de testing. We were all relieved tha ad clea n ma rgins (i.e., d ct rs re m ved all the ca ncer), a nd n ymph n des in that a rea tested p sitive f r ca ncer. Stag u ght the tu m r ea rly. We all breathed a big sig f relief. But wait… fu rther testing was re uired t eally u ndersta nd the tu m r. ast f rwa rd tw eeks. Che m therapy? What d u mea n? B h u ght y u g t it all t tu rn ad triple negative breast ca ncer, a very aggressive type that re uires che m therapy t ignifica ntly redu ce my cha nce f it c ming ba ck t a u nt me. H nestly, this "C w rd" was sca rier tha n the firs ne at this p int. With al new a b ut che m as Cindi Rountree Breast Cancer Survivor Stories