Miranda Messer

Hi there. :)  I am starting this site as a way to share my journey with friends and family as I fight to beat cancer.  I know that I have the absolute best friends and family in the world and I've been reminded by the outpouring of love and generosity I have received since first learning about having breast cancer.  I cannot say enough how much I love and appreciate you for this support!  I want to share how I'm doing, but I also don't want cancer to consume everything I do and people to feel like they're bothering me at all to ask how I'm doing.  Feel free to call me, text me, FB message me, whatever - because I love hearing from you!  Here's where I am and what I think I'm up against at this point.  I have been diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, ER and PR positive, HER2 negative.  The tumor size was 72 mm and has spread to my axillary lymph nodes on the left side.  I say the tumor WAS 72 mm, because after 5 Taxol (chemotherapy) treatments we are already seeing some results!  The tumor is shrinking!  YAY!  I have had 5 of 20 chemotherapy treatments and my body seems to be tolerating it well so far.  Other than fatigue and some random body aches, I've been feeling well.  My hair has been shedding everywhere, so Shawn and the girls gave me an intense haircut the other day!  I'm not going to lie - I feel a little badass with the mohawk and hope it lasts a little while!  My treatment plan will consist of chemotherapy first, then surgery, then radiation, and finally reconstructive surgery.  It seems like this will mean another year of being in a sort of lockdown mode as a family.  I am going to do my best to ensure that the girls have as normal of a school year as possible and know that I will get through this because I have the best team supporting me.  I will use this platform to post updates along the way and do my best to keep in touch with the people I love and that love me.  If you're actually reading this, then that means you and thank you for being in my life.   Something I want to say to everyone is trust yourself to know if something's going on with your body! I had a routine screening mammogram in April and was told thay everything was okay. I followed up with my doctor because I could feel something that was large and abnormal for my breast. My doctor ordered more imaging tests and after a biopsy of the breast and suspicious lymph nodes I found out it was cancer - in June. Please have your screenings and trust your gut if something doesn't feel right. I'm so grateful that this hadn't spread beyond my lymph nodes before we found it.