We have been so incredibly blessed by the numerous people who have reached out to offer help in so many ways. Everyone wants to know how they can help. At this time we don't know much about what we'll need but there are a few things that we can come up with. Someone told us about this page as a way to keep things organized ie. childcare, wishlists, food needs etc. So, we're trying this! Here's my story: Back in May, I felt a lump in my breast after just having had a normal mammogram in January. I immediately contacted my doctor who ordered a 3D mammogram and sonogram. They told me there was no sign of anything to worry about and to contact my dermatologist because it was probably a skin cyst. Phew! It took me three months to get in to see my dermatologist and, to make a long story short, it was not a cyst and was, in fact, something to worry about. Everything happened pretty quickly and in a matter of a week I: saw a breast surgeon who expressed severe “concerns”, had another 3D mammogram and ultrasound which, this time, showed an “abnormality”, and had a biopsy which came back showing two tumors and an enlarged lymph node - all of which were positive for invasive ductal carcinoma. It just got better from there. A week later I had a PET scan which showed my very aggressive cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes, bones and liver. Therefore, my official diagnosis is Stage 4 Triple Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer. It was a lot to learn in a matter of two and half weeks. I have shed plenty of tears and then I pick myself up, dust myself off, and remind myself that I am pretty tough. This will just be one more way for me to show my strength. There will be days when I feel that strength and days when I break down but I'm hoping to have more of the former. I read an article this summer about a woman who was going through a rough delivery with her first child. She complained to her mother that she couldn’t do it anymore - it was too hard. Her mom turned to her and said, “Honey, you’re already doing it.” She said that became her mantra for hard things and changed her perspective about challenging times. I immediately decided to adopt that as my mindset and even had it printed on a sticker. Little did I know how relevant it really would be. This weekend my husband, Steven, and a friend conspiratorially colluded to create t-shirts with the mantra on it. ❤️ One thing I can say for sure is that I have the most amazing support team!! The number of people who have prayed, checked in, and offered support as we’ve gone through this has been overwhelming in the best way. I know that with all this love backing us up there isn’t anything we can’t face, and when it starts to feel like I can’t do it anymore I will remind myself that, “Honey, you’re already doing it.” So…here we go! **UPDATE: It appears that in order to see the "updates", which is where I posted several links, you need to create a login. Hopefully if I post these here it will save you from that step. Wellspring I am so incredibly blessed to be loved and supported by so many people. I know that no matter what my family and I will be taken care of. Not everyone going through this journey is as lucky. One of the greatest supports so far has been a non-profit group called Wellspring. They provide services to people going through their cancer journey. I am getting a haircut and wig fitting through them coming up and I have been blown away by the love and care they provide for free or for a very low cost. I would love to know that they are getting donations or that people have purchased salon services for others who might need it more than I do. That would be incredibly meaningful to me and I know it would be to others who receive the services. If you would like to check them out, here is the website: https://www.valleyhealthlink.com/our-locations/wellspring/ Amazon Wishlist We were encouraged to create an Amazon wish list. I built this based on advice from other people who have gone through chemo. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/5MYWEE3SQOIN?ref_=wl_share Poplin Laundry Service We used this a couple times after my ankle surgery and it was incredibly helpful to have the task of laundry taken off of our plate. This would be a great gift for ANYONE, much less someone going through an illness. ;) https://www.poplin.co/gift-cards Follow My Journey I read a recommendation that you should document your cancer journey so that you can look back and see how far you've come. To that end I've created an Instagram page for anyone who is interested in following: https://www.instagram.com/that_ones_behind_me/