Dear Cancer- You and I disagree.  On October 25, 2010, after discovering a lump in my breast just over a month prior, I got the call, it was you. This sneaky thing called life ran over me like a Mack truck. I was paralyzed with a comprehendible fear, dealing with an enemy I had little control over.  I don’t have a history of breast cancer in my family, and I'm only 29.  Not only did you affect my womanhood, you also decided to be one of the rarest forms of breast cancer, triple negative.  Since, I've learned one in eight women will be diagnosed with you, and there's no rhyme or reason why. So, I tabled the “why” question, because it doesn't matter. What matters is what we do with life after the truck drives past. I don’t think you realize cancer, but I’m an Airman in the United States Air Force, so that means you’d only die faster.  I immediately fought with a team of highly trained killing machines at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Shady Grove Fertility Clinic in the Baltimore, Washington D.C. area.  I began fertility preservation due to the havoc chemo would have on my ovaries. From the beginning, I knew no matter what happened, you would NOT take babies from me.  I then began 20 weeks of chemotherapy taking my hair, nails, energy, strength, appetite and endurance. Oh, I rocked fashionable scarves. I went out for some wine, bald. I walked down the street in a tank top and no breasts. I showed you who was boss with my exterior. I lived with you in my body for 157 days and on May 5, 2011, we cut the rest of you out. I gave you both my breasts, and that’s about it. Today, I’m physically free of you. I beat you with fancy shoes, laughter, glitter, wine, friends and sunshine. I beat you with my family. I beat you with God. I beat you with the knowledge, tenacity, strength and perseverance, women before me paved.  Today, I’m working on the reconstructive process, and rebuilding the destructive path you left behind. I find myself worrying you’ll return, but I wake each morning pushing these haunted thoughts away.  I’ve learned from you. You’ve fundamentally changed me to love this crazy, sexy, beautiful life even more. For that, I’m thankful.  Pink Kisses- Candice
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The views expressed on this site do not reflect the views of the U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense or any other state or government agency. 
The opinions in this multimedia package were solely created and edited by Candice Adams and Russ Scalf.