Hi, my name is Lydia and I am 37 years young. I was diagnosed at the age of 35 with Stage IV breast cancer with numerous bone mets. My diagnosis was only discovered after weeks of unrelenting back pain by an MRI. Only a few weeks after my diagnosis I was hospitalized for debilitating pain in my back and right hip and unable to walk standing straight or with assistance. I had 2 fractured vertebrae, and a golf ball sized hole in my right hip, along with the other lytic lesions reeking havoc on my spine. After surgery to fix that I was sentenced to 13 agonizing months on harsh chemotherapy and hormone receptor treatment. The poison I was prescribed to help save my life caused me to lose my hair, and essentially every ounce of energy I ever had. What it did not take away was my fight to live for my husband and three precious children. Yes there were many breakdowns and thoughts of despair, but I made it through all that alive and with a PET scan that said my cancer was dead, inactive, stable, but I know, still lurking in the shadows.
During my diagnosis my father was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a very aggressive brain cancer, and died after much suffering about eight months later. Cancer has taken my father.  It has taken my bodily strength and stamina. It has put a fear into me that will never go away. I live with pain in various joints and bones daily, which I believe will persist due to damage already caused. What I do have is my faith that The Lord has a plan for me. I have the courage that he has given me to get up every day and say "I'm alive, thank you for this."  I continue with hormone receptor treatment until forever, or until it stops working, or something else will help me.
This picture is not of what cancer has done to me but why I fight it. My husband and children.