Amanda Nickel

Marching on -----I've become a member of a club which has many members but no one really wants to be a part of.  I sure don't want to be part of this club but I am now - The Breast Cancer Club. Cancer was not part of  my life plan - I was rolling along and then BAM, I was blind-sided with the "Big C."  I have no family history of cancer, I follow a pretty healthy diet, I am at a reasonable fitness level, I love life, so, why me??  I asked, then a voice inside of me....well....why not you? So here I am, diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer and waiting for a  PET Scan to determine if I am a Stage 4.  I'm still trying to understand words like, Oncology, Oncologist, Chemotherapy, Estrogen, Progesterone, on and on.  So, I begin telling my friends, family and co-workers - "I have breast cancer."  I discover many (too many) have a cancer story of their own, or a close relative, or they work with someone who survived Breast Cancer. Today, several days after my diagnosis, I am feeling very sad but I feel really blessed and humbled too because I have a strong family, wonderful friends, and other strong women who are breast cancer survivors and ALL are telling me ---- "Amanda, YOU can be a survivor too!!" My caring bridge site is not only to share my own cancer story, but to inspire others. February 17, 2017 Update: 2021, Unfortunately, I am Stage 4 Metastasis Triple Negative.