After several months of investigating the cause of my illness, a routine mammogram this summer identified Triple Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC), just six weeks after my hysterectomy. This type of cancer is aggressive; ILC accounts for 15% of breast cancers, and 10% of all breast cancers are Triple Positive, meaning they test positive for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 protein. I face a challenging treatment journey that begins with 5 months of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy with reconstruction. Depending on the surgical pathology, I may need additional chemotherapy/radiation, followed by further reconstruction/ovary removal surgery, and endocrine therapy. I will also complete a year of targeted chemotherapy for the HER2+ protein every three weeks. I am thankful for the early detection, and after learning about my treatment plan, I decided to take a leave of absence from teaching, a job I deeply loved, to focus on my health. Chemo and germs simply don’t mix.