Staying Strong Through Breast Cancer
Warrior and Woman of Incredible Strength Michelle Heidenreich, age-25, shares her amazing Story of Hope. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women aged 15 to 39. About 250,000 women in the US who are breast cancer survivors were diagnosed before 40. So thrilled for Michelle and her family. Especially seeing her at the “Bell.” She rang it celebrating her last radiation treatment!
-Tina DeSalvo
Up until this year, I was cruising through life. I ran my first marathon in October, got engaged in December, started a new and exciting (to me) career in January, and then—BAM!—got diagnosed with breast cancer in February.
My running friends got me this shirt when I first was diagnosed.
When I found the lump, my parents and I decided I shouldn’t wait to get it checked out, because it could be nothing, but “what if…?” The surgeon I first saw about the lump said the chances of it being cancer were minimal. He mentioned we could watch it for six months or so, or we could remove it and biopsy it right away. I remember looking at my dad, who came with me to that appointment, and I knew we were thinking the same thing: we were NOT going to wait and see, because…
“…What if?”
A couple of weeks after my surgery I get The Call. Triple negative breast cancer and, while early in its life, growing fast. On top of that, we find out that I carry the BRCA gene, a genetic mutation passed down from a parent that makes me more susceptible to breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. We were shocked and terrified. The best advice I received after I got the news from someone close to me who went through something similar was…
“Pull on your big-girl panties and face it head on, because you don’t have any other option.”
Time seemed to speed up after that; I had more tissue surrounding the lymph node removed, waited for more biopsy results, and started chemo. Losing my hair was the hardest part of going through chemo. One of my fondest, most emotional memories of losing my hair is of my mom buzzing my head while my dad held a vacuum hose close to catch the falling hairs. We’re crying and laughing at the same time.
This is the memory I shared when I started losing my hair and my mom, dad and I were smiling and crying while buzzing my head!
To me, anyone who goes through an ordeal like mine is strong. We have no choice but to be strong. I like to think that it is God’s way of saying, “It’s time I challenged you.” He challenges us because He knows that we can handle it. And what is life without challenge?
Warrior and Woman of Incredible Strength Michelle Heidenreich.
I will be finishing radiation this month, and will be having a double mastectomy and reconstruction at the beginning on next year. After that, I will be getting married to my best friend and soulmate. And every single day til then, and every day after, I will thank God for challenging me and letting me see how strong I could become when I wasn’t given a choice.
“I did it! Rang the bell today! The picture is of my mom (on the left) and my future mother in law ❤️
“I did it! Rang the bell today!”
