Her sisters and I (Shelli’s husband is my brother) want to ensure they receive the help and support they need during this time. If there is any way we can ease the burden—whether through providing gift cards for meals or assisting with other needs. This is Shelli’s Story: I realize this news came as a surprise to most of you, so I'll get you up to speed here. My annual mammogram at the end of May showed "heterogeneously dense tissue" in my right breast. Mid-June, I had a second mammogram on the right side followed by an ultrasound. Since this was a follow-up, the radiologist met with me right away to confirm that I had 3 "suspicious" lumps - 2 in my breast and one in my lymph nodes. I let them know I was about to leave the country for 2 weeks, so they were able to get me in for a biopsy 2 days later. I watched the ultrasound screen as they captured multiple samples from each of 3 tumors. The following day, I received a phone call letting me know that I have lobular metastatic breast cancer. Chloe and I took our 2-week vacation along with Mom and my brother, and pushed the diagnosis to the back of our minds to enjoy our vacation. I managed to get in a visit with my OBGYN the day we headed out of the country. I told her I wanted a double mastectomy no matter what. She put in a referral for surgery, and before we started driving to the airport, I had my surgery consult scheduled for 3 days after our return. I was hopeful that surgery could be it, but I knew that the lymph node would likely require chemo and/or radiation. My surgeon proposed 4 months of chemo, followed by surgery, radiation, then reconstruction. I told the nurses and schedulers that my next 2 weeks were wide open for them to schedule anything I needed. The day after my consult I had a CT scan with contrast, then the next week I had my bone scan, MRI, then my consult with oncology. My oncologist presented some different treatment options. With my type of cancer, we could do surgery immediately, potentially with no chemo. I liked the sound of that, but she immediately connected with my surgeon. I was not presented with that option initially because if we went straight to surgery, they would have to remove ALL of my lymph nodes on the right side, not just the affected ones. The type of cancer I have does not always respond to chemo, so the new plan is to undergo 4 chemotherapy treatments, then scan the tumors again. If the chemo has not reduced the size, we can move to surgery. If the tumors are reduced, we'll continue chemotherapy for another 4 rounds before surgery. I have been really happy with my team so far. Everyone has been supportive, open to all of my questions, and made great efforts to push me through this process as quickly and effectively as possible. My port was put in on July 25, and I have already undergone my first chemo treatment. My sisters got me all emotional the night before with a care package waiting for me on the doorstep when I returned from school that day. Overall, we are doing well. The day of my chemo treatment was rough, but I have felt pretty good since. I just know I'm not going to keep up my normal pace. Alfonso and Chloe have been amazing, and Javi never fails to make any of us smile. I know I'll get through this, we all will get through this, and we appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy. Here's to kicking cancer's ass 🥂