Personal Narrative: My Mother's Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

It’s astonishing how one diagnosis can completely alter the life of a family. One day you’re looking to move into the fancy houses along the coast, and the next you’re forced to consider if you would be able to afford the same home with one income. When I was three years old my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was too young to know what was happening, but at the age of seven, when my mom was diagnosed for the second time, I began to notice a change in my family’s daily life. I was told not to sit on my mom’s lap and that she could not play with me as much as usual due to her Chemotherapy, but it was not until her third time contracting cancer that I noticed the pain she was in. I was fourteen when I finally learned about the very thing I had been trying to figure out for nearly my entire life. This burden has solely shaped the way I act and how I handle life’s many challenges, but how it accomplished this was not always a joyous experience.

When I was five, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Even though this was a truly terrible event in my life, there were people who were extremely helpful to me. Obviously, my parents, other family, and friends helped me through the situation, but I am eternally grateful to the nurses. They made me feel like everything was going to be ok as it was happening in the moment. They were the reason I made it through the ordeal. Since then, I could always picture myself going into nursing so that one day, I can be that same trusted support system for someone else.

I was twelve years old when my mother was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Cancer: a scary six-letter word that has been both a curse and a blessing in my life. Over the next year I watched it deteriorate the once vibrant woman who was my mom. However, her illness fostered

This experience transformed me. When the doctors found something weird in my breast, they told me I had breast cancer. From that moment forward, my life changed and I couldn’t grasp why this was happening to me. However, with the help of my family, friends, and my faith I was able to pull through.

Despite my parent's divorce, I led a contented life. My dad lived in the outskirts of Denver, but his distance never kept him from maintaining an active role in my life. Back in Colorado Springs, I lived with my mom, little sister, and step-father. Growing up, I never felt that I truly fit in with any of my friends or even my family; like almost any other teenager, I felt awkward in my own skin. However, my focus quickly shifted away from myself. In November of 2013, my mother learned that she had Pancreatic Cancer. My bubble of protection from the world's problems promptly burst as I heard the diagnosis. My family did our research only to discover that the statistics were horrifying. The five-year survival rate for someone with any stage

Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 4 years ago, just a few months after her divorce was legalized. The diagnosis was devastated for her, she was terrified what will happen to her children and how she will be able to support them. Sarah said she didn’t think about herself, everything else was more urgent and important, especially because she didn’t have insurance and she was struggling financially.

With three members of my family having breast cancer, it is believed that getting genes tested for mutations would be a intelligent decision. Due to breast cancer being a common disease in my family I decided to investigate scenario three into further detail. I feel it would be beneficial to get my genes tested to determine if I have a chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future.

Have you ever had a scary moment where you think you or somebody else in your family might die? Well… I have and I never want it to happen again. This is my Mom’s story.

When you think of the 'average' teenager, you probably think parties, slackers, and lots of sleep.

I believe, without my mother's independence and the way she raised me, I would not be applying to Queens today. I have had my share of ups although I've also had plenty of downs. I have two older sisters and a younger brother. My oldest sister chose a different path when she had the opportunity to choose a more successful path. She moved out at the age of 16 to flew across the country to live off of my grandpa's income. She dropped out of college, barely a semester in, with student loan debt. She could have been a multi-sport collegiate athlete on scholarship. I look at her and see what could happen if I don't make the right choices and take advantage of my opportunities. My second oldest sister made most of the right choices, and I look at her and see how successful I could become.

Many people experience moments which help define them; for me, that defining moment came through loss. Nearly four years ago, my entire world was shaken to its very foundation from the death of my mother. After many tumultuous years, my mother lost her battle with breast cancer in 2012. Though coping with her death proved to be the most challenging obstacle I would ever face, it proved to also have a silver lining. Through my adversity, I have been introduced to a community of cancer families which have provided me with endless support during my times of struggle, and to whom I have been able to comfort in their own times of need.

I have a great interest in pharmacology as a result of when my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I wanted to know what I could do to help her so I turned first towards her medicine. There were bottles upon bottles of pills lying around our house, as well as syringes she injected into herself. They were always on the same corner of the counter, and a syringe disposal box in our kitchen cupboard. Of course I was too young to actually understand anything but I learned to recognize different pills and understood that they served different purposes. I would retrieve pillows, bottles, and soy milk with ice in it for her. I helped to feed her jello and watched helplessly as she struggled to keep it down. Ultimately, that was the best I could do to help her at the time, and unfortunately at the young age of forty she lost her battle with cancer. I was only seven at the

Wrapping paper covered the floor in an opalescent blanket, and the scents of nutmeg and pine mingled in the air. It was Christmas, and my family had converged at my grandparents’ house. After dinner, I sat at the table talking to my grandmother, “I love Christmas. Next year will be even better.” Her eyes flashed with fear, but the twinkle of kindness quickly returned, and she said, “Next year will be even better.” The next day, my mother walked into my room. “Hey buddy,” she said, “I have to tell you something. Grandma’s breast cancer came back.” I was stunned and upset, but my mother explained that my grandmother had not told anyone until that morning. She wanted Christmas to be special, and she kept this news to herself, knowing that it would

My family altogether had always been loving, supportive, and strong. All of these things only increased when my innocent mom was diagnosed with breast cancer during my eighth grade school year. My mother’s love for me and my

The news arrives on a sunny Friday afternoon. A shrill ring from the phone grabs the attention of my whole family; burned into my memory forever is the image of my mother’s face. As she hangs up the phone, I already know the news was not what we had expected. Bursting into tears, my mother sobs as my father holds her, tears clouding his own eyes. The diagnosis is ductal carcinoma in situ, a form of breast cancer. The perfect weather contrasts with one of the most excruciating days of my life. The day is my mother's 50th birthday.