Maysa-Maria Peterson Lach

I'm a 54 year old mother of 5, grandma of one and ... On August 13th, 2014 (this year), I also heard those words that no woman wants to hear. "You have breast cancer." It was confirmed - Pleomorphic Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, oh and... there's another suspicious area - a non-mass enhancement that we need to look at. After the second core biopsy, it was confirmed again - additional ILC: both on the left breast at the one o'clock and two o'clock positions, 1.4 cm and 1.5 cm both estrogen and progesterone positive, HER-2/neu negative. After MRIs and tests, I had breast conserving surgery on September 23, 2014 with reconstruction and reduction on the right breast at the same time.

When I got the news, I decided to have a 'name that tumor' contest and my sister won with the name of Pearl. Why? Because of the analogy. A small piece of sand is placed in an oyster which then covers it with a film to protect itself... later, that pearl is removed and something beautiful is birthed. So, for me this is a journey of transformation into something beautiful. What serendipity, Joan, that our procedures were on the same day. Next up, I'm waiting on the results of my Oncotype DX test to see if I need chemo or just radiation. Still much soreness from surgery as well.

I don't watch television any longer so had no idea of Joan's journey until last week's article in People. So, here I am sharing my story but I've been blogging about it since the confirmation day. You can read my journey at: Pearlsofwisdom.me We're all in this together. Here's to love and gratitude to all you beautiful women out there who are on a similar journey! We can do it.