Our "A Calendar to Live By" features 11 survivors we serve through Here for the Girls programs and their inspiring, uplifting stories about their cancer journey. Get to know this month's model, Jamie! (If our calendar isn't hanging on your wall right now, click here to get one.)
Jamie: 37, Diagnosed at 36
2nd degree family history - no known genetic mutation
Jamie is a busy mother of two, military wife, and project manager. Breast cancer is not a project she was ever planning to have to manage, however. During her last pregnancy, Jamie found a lump in her breast that was tested and judged benign. When she found a second lump while nursing, a biopsy revealed stage II breast cancer. “I thought I was doing everything right: I was an avid runner, I ate a healthful diet, and I breastfed my babies. I thought I was too young for breast cancer,” Jamie says. Her husband was deployed during her diagnosis and part of her treatment, which included chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, and radiation. Being diagnosed at a young age was a shock for Jamie, but she’s working on taking life one day at a time, and she’s finding comfort from her Boober! sisters. “These are women who understand the emotional and physical rollercoaster of this disease. They've given me hope when I was in the depths of chemotherapy and shown me the light at the end of the treatment tunnel.” Her goal is not just to survive but to thrive. Jamie hopes sharing her journey will help uplift other women personally and professionally.