First let me give a big shout out to "self breast examinations" and the relentless push the media has done to remind women about this simple act. That one measure has kept me alive today. Every year in April I have a mammogram, I have since my first baseline one at 35. Every year the radiologists have given me a clean result. In July I was in the shower utilizing my self breast exam tool and i found a large marble size lump on my left breast, which turned out to be stage III invasive ductile breast cancer. Since the moment i found out, that very moment, I knew I could not be in charge of this journey. I had to give it all to God, and so I did. It was a simple decision, and because of that decision it's been a loving experience. God has not only surrounded me with people who love, love, love me, but he has also put me in the hands of skilled, caring, and even funny medical professionals who are using the best, most up to date knowledge to save my life. I had a bilateral mastectomy September 30 along with the beginning of reconstruction. I had a PET scan this week and everything else in my body looks cancer free. Those little shits are sneaky though, so next Wednesday I start a round of chemo treatments. One every three weeks for 18 weeks. People ask me if I'm scared and as crazy as it sounds, I'm not. In my heart I KNOW this is only a part of the plans God has for my life and in some way in the future I know I will use the experience from these moments to help others on their journey's, whatever they may be.

Nita Loveland
Columbus, IN