“You have cancer.” It’s a phrase we hope to never hear in our lifetime. If we do, we assume we’ll hear it when we’re middle aged or older, right? I was only 29. Nine months before my diagnosis, I began noticing I was putting on some weight, specifically in my abdomen. I credited those extra …
Beating cancer before 30: My shocking 17-pound tumor discovery Read More »
When you are young, you feel invincible. You feel that no matter what your parents say to you—like advising you to wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun—you know better. Afterall, it is your body and you tell yourself, “oh, it’ll never happen to me.” Until it did. On April 17, 2021, I received …
My melanoma survival story: What it’s like to be diagnosed with skin cancer Read More »
It started with a numbness in my left arm and an unrelenting husband who refused to accept my blasé attitude about my body changes. Over a course of several months, I noticed that my left arm was getting weaker and I was unable to lift at my normal capacity. I attributed it to sleeping incorrectly …
About a year ago, I shared my breast cancer story here and talked about why cancer hates fighters like me. (If you haven’t read that yet, read it now and then come back.) I’m still just as much of a fighter but in the past year, I’ve learned a few things about life after breast …
It’s gone. God willing, it’ll never be back. In a recent advertising campaign, Baylor Scott & White declared: “Cancer hates us.” That’s the kind of partner I wanted when I fought a life-threatening disease. It’s the kind of partner that helped me get to where I am today, cancer-free. Last August, I expelled an alarming …
In Women in Medicine, read stories of Baylor Scott & White physicians, leaders, employees and patients who are inspiring and empowering other women to live healthy lives. As a child, Elizabeth Jekot, MD, was always mesmerized by puzzles. It’s that thrill of solving puzzles that first drew her to the field of diagnostic radiology — the …
Women in Medicine: 19-year breast cancer survivor fights for early detection Read More »
As you go through life, you often hear that with age comes the potential for health issues — not so much if, but when. I have lived a very healthy life, and I’m active with a passion for outdoor activities and traveling the country in my RV. However, just a few years ago, I was …
I was diagnosed with breast cancer on December 26, 2018. I had just turned 36 and my year had already been rough. After having to leave my hometown, losing a relationship of five years and moving to Dallas all on my own, I had finally found my groove. I was in great shape, had made …
For people battling metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, options are often limited. Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, an oncologist on the medical staff at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas and the holder of the Celebrating Women Chair in Breast Cancer Research, has worked tirelessly to …
Novel treatment gives triple-negative breast cancer patients new hope Read More »
There was no history of cancer in my family. With the diagnosis no one wants to hear, that history changed. As I approached my 70th birthday, I had no idea how grateful I would be to survive that milestone. During the months leading up to my diagnosis, I had gone from being active in my church and …