I am 22 years old, and in May 2012 my sister (27) and I had prophylactic double mastectomies. My mom had breast cancer at 24 and 38, then ovarian cancer at 55 and 57! Just a year before our surgery we found out that we were BOTH BRCA 1 gene …

Hello, my name is Althea. My fight like a girl story begins in 2006. I was in nursing school and realized I was unable to stand for a three hour lab class without sitting down and taking a break. I experienced pain in my joints, had a hard time concentrating, …

While going to college, at 39 years old, for surgical technology, I had a mammogram followed by a needle biopsy and then a surgical biopsy. Fortunately for me it was detected early and was also contained within a milk gland so it couldn’t spread, thus requiring no chemotherapy or radiation. …

In high school I started having digestive issues. I have gastroparesis. It is a delay in the stomach emptying process and causes people to throw up food and feel nauseated. Now I have a digestive motility problem in which my colon is not working. It’s called colonic dysmotility. I am …

I too struggled with endometriosis for years. Like many, my pain was ignored and I was told things like “it’s part of being a woman” and other comments like that. I was taking naproxen from the moment my period started until a couple days after it ended. I had a …

My parents were killed in 1976. My mother was 41 when she died. In 2006, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery and radiation, I am a survivor. I have 2 sisters, one is my identical twin. She just found out she had a positive biopsy. We don’t know …

Hi! My name is Allison. I was diagnosed on my 34th birthday with stage 4 breast cancer with widespread bone metastasis, and on a recent CT scan they found a small lesion. I’ve had three collapsed vertebrae and have trouble walking because of the numerous bone lesions on my spine, …

Hi, my name is Roxanna, and I was diagnosed with Lupus SLE last summer of 2012. I believe I have lived with this condition for a long time, but was not diagnosed before. At the time of my diagnosis I was under a lot of stress, dealing with a divorce. …

Hi, My Name is Valorie. I am 37 years old, and a single mom of three teenagers. I was diagnosed with Rhuematoid Arthritis in October of 2011. I remember the day my doctor told me what was wrong. After months of terrible pain in my hand’s and feet, I was …

“Vanessa, remember you have endometriosis,” the doctor said. Those words swirled around in my head, but my mind refused to process the meaning behind them. My doctor eyes compassionately swept over my face, settling on my eyes. He patiently waited until his word sunk in; unfortunately they just wouldn’t. Firstly, …