I'm a wife and mom to two wonderful adult children with special needs. I work from home at a virtual job so I can have a flexible schedule that allows me to make sure their needs are met on a daily basis. All was happy in our world up until about two months ago. In early July I found a lump in my left breast. Had a mammogram, tomosynthesis, and an ultra sound. Radiologist said it "looked concerning" and advised I have it biopsied. Nine days later I had it scanned, biopsied and tagged. Second radiologist said, "It looks like cancer; but let's see what the pathologist finds." A week after the biopsy we had our answer - Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It's an early find-stage 1-but it's an aggressive form, grade 2/3. On September 11, I'll start my "treatment" journey by having a double mastectomy and they'll remove 2 or 3 lymph nodes at the same time to make sure the nasty little beast hasn't decided to spread out and make friends. We'll know by the 24th or 25th if I need radiation and/or chemotherapy. Hormone blockers will be my "friend" for the next 5 - 10 years to reduce the risk of recurrence. You can keep track of my journey here. If you have a few hours and want to keep me company along the way, even "virtually," let me know. The next few months are going to bring a lot of challenges.