Cancer. Malignant tumor, malignant neoplasm. It knows no race, social status, religious conviction, gender, political orientation. Some babies are born with it, children are affected, adults are non-exempt.

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they may have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.

In 2015, about 90.5 million people had cancer. About 14.1 million new cases occur a year (not including skin cancer other than melanoma). It caused about 8.8 million deaths (15.7% of deaths). The most common types of cancer in males are lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer. In females, the most common types are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer.

I was diagnosed with a triple positive breast cancer (stage 3), metastatic to the lymph nodes. I underwent chemotherapy, a radical mastectomy and radiation. Due to the cancer strain, I have access to targeted therapies that will boost my immune system from a recurrence. Welcome to my blog. I hope that you will be inspired. If you or a loved one has been recently diagnosed, don’t loose hope. While horror stories abound, there are stories of hope and people are beating the disease. My mission is to give a balanced view, based on my experience. Take courage, fight the good fight!