Wow... how do I start? My breast cancer diagnosis came about in an unbelievable & unusual way. I found out I was pregnant, but before I could get to the 1st prenatal appointment I miscarried. I thought the pregnancy was over. It turns out 2 months later at a doctor's office we discovered 2 things... that I was carrying an 18-20 week fetus... and there was a lump in my right breast. They sent me for a mammogram. They couldn't tell what the mass was from that or the ultrasound performed that day... so the next step was a biopsy. Mind you, I was only 32 years old, so every doctor or technician kept giving me these looks of "What are you doing here? You're too young for this." I was so determined that this lump was merely a cyst that I didn't hear or understand when the results of cancerous cells was read to me. I went home & told my husband that yes there were cancerous cells, but I'll have the lumpectomy to get rid of it & that's that! Meanwhile everyone around me started crying & praying. You would think that would be a low point... but my roller coaster ride was just beginning. 2 days after diagnosis my husband got orders that his Navy Reserve unit had be activated for duty in the Iraqi war. He deployed 4 days before the lumpectomy. When I woke up from the lumpectomy there must have been like 55 people in my room, trying to stop my contractions & discussing how soon I needed to start chemo. It was then it hit me.... this really is cancer, not just a few cells. Since my husband was still stateside, he was allowed to come back home for the weekend... just in time to send me into labor & see his son born, then shipped off 2 days later. I started chemo treatment 4 days after delivery. Imagine a young woman coming to a treatment center carrying a newborn... that's not something that happens often! I had 4 wks of A/C then 10 weeks of Taxol. The Taxol just about killed me. I had allergic reactions, couldn't breathe w/out oxygen, almost lost my toe & finger nails, suffered one of the worst UTI's known to man... and then we had another mammogram. I had calcifications in both breasts. They offered to monitor them via mammogram every 6 months. You know how much fun that would be? I opted for the double mastectomy with reconstruction. Of course since things can never be easy & simple for me, this opened me up to the world of staph infection. Right at the port site of the implants.. so after only 6 months they had to come out. I was on the Herceptin trial after I was done with Taxol. Things seemed to be going well until I stopped with the treatment 1 year later. I started having breathing and heart problems and was diagnosed with a 22% heart failure... a side effect well known & associated with Herceptin. UGH!! The same drug that saved my life was trying to kill me! Well with continued prayer ( and of course new meds like Coreg!) I am still here. It's been 4 years, 2 months, 1 week , 3 days and counting. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear about nothing showing up on a PET scan & the word " REMISSION". Thank you Lord.