Portia Singian Battle Born

In December 2018, I noticed some physical changes in my breast that I initially attributed to pre-menstrual symptoms. When I went for a routine physical exam in January 10, 2019, I told my primary care doctor of these changes and she too was concerned and immediately scheduled me for a mammogram. That was followed by an ultrasound and a biopsy and in a matter of days , I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Several screening procedures later, my oncologist confirmed the official diagnosis:  Stage 2A ER positive,  HER2 negative breast cancer. The treatment plan is chemotherapy then mastectomy, then some form of therapy thereafter.

The first few days waiting for the biopsy results were the hardest. The uncertainty of whether I had cancer, left me helpless and distraught. So many scenarios and questions played out in my head, it was deafening. I guess I should add, that weeks before this, I was already grappling with a pending change – the parent company of Julep decided to close down Julep’s Seattle office and consolidate operations in New York, which means our whole office would be laid off. Talk about a double whammy!

The truth is I was extremely overwhelmed those first few weeks after the diagnosis – no different from going through the stages of grief. In time, I’ve learned to accept that cancer threw me a detour and I just have figure out how to pass through it. As Robert and I talked about the road ahead, one thing was clear: this is a journey that we don’t have to take alone. In sharing our news, many of you have responded with offers of support to our family, so Robert put up this site to give you some concrete ideas of how you could help our family and get updates on my treatment.