It was April Fools Day 2011...I was sitting in the Doctor's Office, when the Doctor came in to say...YOU HAVE BREAST CANCER! I knew life would NEVER be the same again. I knew that was the first day of the rest of my life. What I didn't know, at the time, was it was a new beginning to the BEST days of my life! Yes, I had to go through five surgeries...lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy, double mastectomy, reconstruction and partial hysterectomy! I underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. As one of my medical team said...'you have just given yourself the best possible breast cancer insurance policy'. Most of my decisions were preventative. I had been diagnosed with a Stage 2, Grade 1 Estrogen/Progesterone positive cancer. I was 46 years old and the Mother of a six year old son. I was going to do whatever it took to be alive and well to see my only child grow up. There was never any question about that! What started out as the scariest thing in my life, turned into the most positive thing in my life! I get a second chance! I like to say...I got a first class ticket in the second chance club! I believe with every ounce of my being that attitude plays THE BIGGEST role in cancer survival! I started out by thinking it was half the battle. I now believe it is 95% of the battle! Three years later...I have NEVER felt better...I have NEVER felt more ALIVE! I am filled with gratitude and treat EVERY day like a GIFT. NONE of us know when 'our gig is up'. Something I DO KNOW is life is great...life is beautiful... and life is made up of a million little wonderful things that we get to share, love and experience EVERY day. I am SO grateful for THAT!

Sue Kempton
Whitby, Canada