Cancer Did Me Dirty at Thirty

Living Our Breast Lives

Welcome to your blissful thirties! So we THOUGHT!

Join Wren and Brittany as they go behind the scenes and discuss what it's like to have Metastatic Breast Cancer in your thirties when you thought life would look a lot differently for you.

Your thirties typically involve marriage, having children, successful career paths, home ownership, traveling, socializing, but with a cancer diagnosis, its more about doctor appointments, biopsies, fertility treatments, surgeries, chemo treatments, battling side effects, and then there's early menopause which can cause vaginal dryness, hot flashes, and the possibility of future problems conceiving.

Your thirties are supposed to be the "sweet spot" in life, but with a cancer diagnosis, the "sweet spot" becomes an abrupt change which comes with several hardships. BUT, we must remember that life is a journey, and journeys are unpredictable and unforeseeable, and they're usually not the way we anticipate them to be. But just because your journey is not what you expected, doesn't make it any less beautiful. And all those things you feel might have been taken from you because of the cancer diagnosis at such a young age; think about all of the things that cancer HAS given you, and the life you still have, and the life you still have coming.

Topics discussed on today's episode:

Age has a lot do with it, especially when you're the youngest person in the cancer center. Wren and Brittany discuss in great depth what that feels like.

What about having babies? When you're in your thirties and on lifelong treatment, and dependent on this treatment, how do you choose between saving your life and remaining on this treatment or wanting to experience motherhood which is an experience that was taken from you?

What about being in your thirties and being forced to think about the possibility of dying? MBC Thrivers have to worry about surviving versus living. You are forced to think morbidly about death and writing wills which is not a normal activity for someone so young.

Expect light hearted with a sprinkle of dark humor, fun, informative, but most importantly, eye opening, to say the least. Being diagnosed as an AYA (adolescent young adult) cancer patient is complicated and messy, don't miss out on this opportunity to hear the many truths that come with an early aged diagnosis.

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." - Maya Angelou