Terri Churchill

So the "C" word has made it's way into my family. I have not had time to process and understand the full meaning of the word cancer. I am a young 42 year old mom of three young adult kids and also a wife of 22 years. I want to share with you the back story of how quickly the "C" word entered my life.  You see about 9 months ago I was an active CNA, working and taking care of my residents at work and doing normal day to day life until I began listening to my body. It was taking me longer to recover from my week working on the floor with my residents and I was beginning to ask for more help with the task I was once doing on my own. I decided to quit my work and I then started seeking more medical attention for answers to why I had not been feeling well.  During one of my appointments I had been informed that it was time for my routine mammogram; that was January 11, 2018. I was then called back in for an abnormal screening on January 18th, 2018. I was scheduled for a biopsy on January 25th and on January 29th I had been called with my diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  Keep in mind I have been told that breast cancer should not make a person sick. I am here to say that something has not been right in my body for sometime now.  Cancer fits into my life and makes sense because I have not been myself for awhile now.  I will keep one thing in mind...Cancer is my diagnosis and it will not be my death sentence. I will have surgery, do my treatments and continue to fight and understand what this "C" word means to me and my family as we continue along this journey that God has put us on.  Thank you for reading my story.