When I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in November 2012, it was a busy time in my life. I had three kids and was running a nonprofit organization, and my first reaction was, "I don't have time for breast cancer!" Even once the diagnosis sank in, I thought I was just giving 8 months of my life over to treatment to get rid of it, and then I’d go right back to normal.
Then I started chemo, and had a horrible experience. I got all the awful side effects, and got them tenfold. I couldn't work; I was basically in bed for the entire course of treatment. I got so sick that I contracted sepsis and ended up in the hospital for three weeks. I almost died. I really felt like I didn't care if I died. I was that miserable in my body.
Then a lightbulb went off and I thought: No, this isn't the way my story ends. I’m meant to live.