Natasha // Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivor

Age: 38 years old

From: Columbia, MO

What treatments did you undergo during your journey? Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, immuno therapy, alternative and integrative.

What were your signs/symptoms leading up to your diagnosis? Hard wedge in my breast that wouldn’t change with my menstrual cycles. The fibroids I had for years always changed in firmness and tenderness throughout my cycles, but this was consistently hard and became more tender as time went on. I also started having some nerve twinges in that breast.

How did cancer alter your lifestyle? Mentally and emotionally it’s been the hardest battle of my life. Having to deal with the emotional impact of having cancer with young children is so hard. I pray every day that I’ll get to watch my children grow up and be alongside them throughout the next several decades. Because of the stress and anxiety I’ve dealt with, I see a counselor twice a month and she has been amazing with allowing me to process even the scariest of feelings and then helping to learn ways to cope with the stress and anxiety. It’s also nice to have someone to talk to that isn’t a loved one that I can open up about things that I really can’t tell anyone else. Physically, I have really been focusing on my overall health and wellbeing. I try to implement exercise most days, intermittent fasting and even the fasting mimicking diet. I also add in several self-care activities to nourish my body like saunas, Hyperbaric Oxygen, juicing, supplements, coffee enemas, epsom salt baths, journaling, etc. Spiritually I have received so much support from my church community and our family. I pray constantly and then have faith that God will work it all out for my good. It’s the faith and surrender part that can be hard, but I’ve definitely grown in this area of my faith over the past year and a half.

What makes your story unique or helpful to others? I don’t know if it’s unique or special, I just hope to be able to pass along the knowledge and experiences I’ve had with cancer to new or fellow cancer warriors. I want them to know they are not alone on the journey and if I can lend an arm of support, I most certainly will. Much of my journey has been documented on my instagram page @radianttransformations. I try to post tips and tricks, funny but real content, feel good posts and inspirational posts to brighten others’ days. I figure if it helps me cope, it’ll likely help others.

Any advice for those coming behind you? Never lose hope! Even when statistics, doctors, etc. tell you news that you don’t want to hear, remember everybody is different and what works for one might not be the same for another. I also heard from a good friend when I was getting started with treatment that “it’ll not be fun, but it’ll likely not be as bad as you expected,” those words helped me through much of my anxiety.

Do you have a funny cancer story? Hmm… Let me think…. Once I finished IV chemo, my husband and I took a quick getaway trip. Well I was still in the midst of menopause and had a serious hot flash on the plane. Right in the middle of the flight, I started removing layers of clothing and then ultimately my hair. I think it was a surprise for those around us to see a woman take her hair off, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do!

Favorite quote, scripture or song? “One day you will tell your story of how your overcame what you went through and it will become someone else’s survival guide.” – Brene Brown

How did you hear about Brighter? How has it made a difference? I found Brighter on Instagram. I could tell right off the bat that Brighter intended to be a resource for women battling cancer. The stories of hope, reminders of self-care and overall inspiration felt like the perfect place for me. I’ve since been surrounded by some amazingly beautiful, courageous and supportive women and this is a community like none other! I just hope that I will get to meet this wonderful group of women in-person some day!