"I'm Not A Pink Ribbon Girl"

Twenty years. That’s how long Breast Cancer has affected my family. Twenty years ago: It’s the first time it happened to us... My family and not someone else’s. The first time it felt real.... not some Illness off in the distance. The first time being faced with mortality...

I say first time because all of those feelings rushed back ten years later. The second time... I have to say the second time was even more devastating....more personal... more fearful.

In February of 2000, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer that ended up being HER 2+. Both are extremely aggressive types of cancer, and she had both... a double whammy! She had a 50% five year survival rate. I was a young mother, just 34 years old, and up until then, thought my mother was invincible. That year, I developed a sinking feeling in my gut. I just knew that it wasn’t IF I would get cancer, it was WHEN. You can call it premonition or self-fulfilling prophecy, but I was diagnosed at Thanksgiving 2010... Infiltrating Ductile Carcinoma ER+ PR+.... ten years after my mothers diagnosis... 5 years after her death.

Last month, Ashley asked me if I would write a guest post for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Of course I said YES, then found myself starting, getting a lump in my throat, a pit in my stomach and tears in my eyes, and I would have to stop. This was very perplexing and frustrating. You see, I have no problem talking to anyone about my experience. Women need to get mammograms; people need to know the statistics; money must be raised for research, they need information from personal experiences. Surprisingly, I was having a very difficult time putting my thoughts on paper. While I know all of the things surrounding breast cancer are important.. I HATE it. With.A.Passion. I don’t want it to be part of my history and I definitely do not want it to be my identity! Yet I know, realistically, I can’t run nor hide from it. I have embraced it, not like a badge of honor, Lord knows it is not, but as a teacher and what I can learn from it. THIS is what we will focus on this week, Learning. See, like any student, you have to be willing to be teach-able before you can be reach-able. You have to be willing to stomp through the hard stuff to be able to look back and see how you have grown. Learning through adversity transforms a person, if they allow it.

Please join us this week as we touch upon the lessons I’ve learned through cancer. The lessons that I believe are not talked about enough.

❤️Richelle

//So excited to have my mom guest post this week as we talk about Breast Cancer Awareness! Thanks for joining us on our learning journey! Learn, grow, share.

Happy Learning,

Ashley//