Written by Amanda Negri
“Your 30’s are the best years of your life!”
Well, that could look different for everyone. In January 2026, I was taking a shower and felt a lump in my lower left breast. I moved over to the right breast to check the same area and when I didn’t feel what I was feeling in the left I started to panic. I called my mom and she assured me that everything was fine, we have dense breasts and fatty tissues in our family- no history on either side with breast cancer.
Still, she encouraged me to make an appointment with my gynecologist just to be on the safe side double check I was fine. A month later in February 2026, I saw my gyno; she had done a breast exam on me and she also did not know what the lump was, so she referred me to a breast center.
March 18th was the next available appointment they had – a whole month after my gyno appointment. The day comes when I walk into the breast center to get my first mammogram done and an ultra sound. What I thought was going to be a 30-45 minute process ending up taking four hours. The doctor was concerned with what he was seeing from the tests and decided to do three biopsies; one in my left breast where the lump was, one on the top part of my right breast, and one in my left armpit. I left that breast center terrified about my results.
The Results
The following Tuesday I received a call that both breasts came back benign but my lymph node tested positive for breast cancer. The doctor wanted to take more tissue samples of the lump in my left breast so I had to go back that day to get a fourth biopsy done.
March 24th was when I unfortunately received the call that I did in fact have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma- the most common type of breast cancer. After that day it was a whirlwind of appointments; meeting with a surgeon to get my port placed in for chemo, meeting with an oncologist for the first time, meeting with an IVF specialist so I can freeze my healthy eggs before I started chemo, so so so many blood tests, and several scans to make sure the cancer didn’t spread any further than that one lymph node. It’s honestly a very numbing feeling going through this process because everything happens so quickly.
Once my IVF journey was finished and I was able to successfully freeze 14 of my eggs, I started my TCHP chemo on May 8th as well as received my first Zoladex shot to put me in menopause to protect my ovaries from the chemo. Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin, and Perjeta are the medicines targeted to my specific cancer – ER+/PR+ and HER2+ also know as triple positive breast cancer, stage 2B with a grade 3 tumor.
Since my cancer is fueled by estrogen and progesterone, I will be in menopause for the next 5 years and on hormone blockers for the next 5 to 10 years.
On May 21st thirteen days after my first infusion, my hair started to fall out. I decided instead of this being traumatizing and depressing, I wanted to make it fun. The hairstyles of Edna from The Incredibles, micro bangs, a mullet, and a mohawk made an appearance before I fully shaved my head. The night went exactly how I wanted it to go; I was surrounded by my family, my boyfriend and my lifelong best friends. There were zero tears and endless laughs, and I couldn’t have been happier to finally not have the stress about losing my hair.
I hope whoever is reading this (especially if you’re a woman) remember to check your boobs!!! It is so important to be doing at home breast exams on yourself and keeping up with your yearly appointments. I go to my gyno every single May and this lump was not there back in May 2025. You know your body best and when you feel something if off or wrong, make an appointment with your doctor.
I got genetic testing done for 59 different cancers, thirteen of them being breast cancers and everything came back negative. Negative is a great thing! But it also shows that this can happen to anyone, at any age, and sometimes its just shit luck.
If you or someone you know is going through cancer right now, just know that this disease DOES NOT control you. I pray every day for God to give me healing and strength to get through this and I pray that if the person reading this right now is in the same situation that he heals you and helps you through this as well. This is not a forever thing, just a large pothole on this road of life and there will be light at the end of it all.
Go Fund Me link: https://gofund.me/3f0194211
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