At the age of 23, my life changed. I went into my OB-GYN for a normal yearly Pap smear. Two weeks later they called me to tell me I had abnormal cells. At that time, it was just abnormal; the doctor told me he wanted to re-test in three months. …

Back in 2001, my mom was going for her first annual mammogram and was a little nervous. Her aunt had passed away from the disease a few years earlier. I was 34 years old and had insurance, so my husband said I should go with her; like the buddy system. …

My name is Doris and I am 32 years old.  I am the mother of three boys and a wife to the most wonderful husband ever. My story started back in early 2017 when I felt a lump in my left breast while I was removing my bra. Truly speaking, …

I started spotting in June 2017, at age 65. I finally got in to see the doctor by July 3 and by July 18, 2017, I got a phone call from the gynecologist. I was told the biopsy came back positive for endometrial cancer. I scrambled as I was supposed …

My name is Anna and I am 63 years old. My father passed away from black lung disease and my mother passed away from colon cancer.  If I was going to get cancer it would have been one of those, I thought. I had not had a mammogram in two …

I was born at 25-weeks gestation. After suffering from a grade 3 and grade 4 inter-ventricular brain hemorrhage at birth, I later developed hydrocephalus. I was given a VP shunt and have had over 19 brain surgeries. I have severe anxiety as a result but I am slowly learning to …

I struggled with stomach ulcers and pain prior to my intuition pushing me to get more thoroughly checked out. It turns out I have a rare cancer known as a soft tissue sarcoma. Out of the many treatments, surgery has been the most difficult. But I keep going; it’s a mantra …

25 with Endometriosis Endometriosis: the mysterious women’s health disease that affects 1 in 10 women. Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue, similar to the lining of the uterus, grows in other areas of the body. There is no cure, there is no specific known reason of why it develops. …

Life seldom turns out the way we expect it to, especially for anyone in her 20s.  Receiving a diagnosis of a disease that has no cure, a disease that could be life threatening is a frightening experience and it leaves you with a sense of uncertainty. I had always been a super …

In 2013, one of my identical twin daughters, Mischa, 41, (pictured) passed away from bacterial meningitis. She was an assistant principal in the Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, the same school district where her twin sister is currently employed as a principal. She had been ill almost all her …