My name is Michelle and I am 38 years old. I lost my mother to cancer (mesothelioma – caused by asbestos exposure) on August 16, 1998, 2 days after my 25th birthday,  when she was just 50 years old. Then, on August 26, 2011, two weeks after my 38th birthday, …

My name is Ann Robison. I’m currently 19, but was diagnosed with my ‘speed bumps’ when I was in 8th grade. What, you may ask, are speed bumps? I don’t like the word disease. I feel like using the word ‘disease’ makes it easier for people to discriminate; where as …

My name is Kathie, and I am 57-years-old. I am a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a sister, and an aunt. I am also living with an incurable disease called  autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). When I was 49 I was blindsided by the diagnosis. This is what I have …

My name is Melanie and this year I turned 31. I have suffered with endometriosis since I was 13 years old. Of course, it wasn’t diagnosed until 7 years later. I spent at least 3 days every month home from school in bed and in tears, not knowing or understanding …

Hello, my name is Jennifer Todd, I am 32-years-old and the mother of two wonderful children; a boy who is 9 and a girl who is 12. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with endometriosis.  It took me a long time to conceive my daughter, and endometriosis was the reason why. …

Hi, my name is Terri. In 2010, I was diagnosed with stage 3b ovarian cancer and stage 1 endometrial cancer. My only symptom was my irregular heavy periods,which I had had for 30 years. I just thought menopause was kicking in. My surgery told a whole different story. I underwent …

I turned 41 in November of 2011. Like a responsible woman, I had my first “baseline” mammogram and a yearly physical in January. A week later, I got a letter in the mail, asking me to come back for a closer look at a “probably benign” finding.  My wise inner …

I was a healthy person who, like many, took life for granted. Not anymore. Two years ago, I was confronted with a life-and-death decision. I agreed to undergo brain surgery in the hope it would stop the excruciating headaches I was suffering with every day. I’m sharing my story in …

I am 28 years old, and to the world, I look perfectly healthy. Except for some very scary scars, you would never know how much my body has endured. At 16, I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, after the doctors first told me I had lupus. Not long after, I …

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder for the first time in 1990, when it was called manic depression. I was bulimic back then. I didn’t like the diagnosis, so I rejected it. Then in 1992 I was diagnosed with ‘regular’ depression. I liked that a whole lot better. I was …