October 2013, Issue 5 - Volume 1 Oct. 2013 | Page 10

Warrior Chics richmond My name is Kim and I am a breast cancer survivor. On June 24, 2006, I felt a lump in my right breast, unsure of what it was I asked my mother a 30 year CNA to feel it and give me her opinion. My mother felt the lump and then she looked at me straight in the eye with a very serious look and said “make an appointment with your doctor”. That following Monday morning first thing I called my doctor’s office told them what I felt and instead of them telling me to come into their office they immediately gave me a referral for a mammogram. My mom and I went to the doctor’s office and he hits me with “the lump in your breast is CANCER”. I was in total shock and could not believe what this doctor was telling me. I couldn’t hear anything else other than the word CANCER. I was devastated at the least, not knowing what in the world was going to happen to me. I was then scheduled for a mastectomy on September 11, 2006 , my four chemotherapy sessions were to begin November 2006 and I started hormonal therapy medication Tamoxifen a week after my last chemotherapy session. All in all I remain cancer free for 7 years and counting. This was a difficult yet enlightening experience for me and my family. I see life in a totally different way now. I now know that I MUST live life to the fullest because it can be taken away at any given time. I look back on all that I went through and embrace it. God has kept me on this earth for a great reason and this is what has inspired me to begin Kimmy’s Angels 4 Tatas which is a non-profit organization for breast cancer. We are a hands on organization that provides house cleaning, lawn care and transportation to and from chemotherapy/doctor appointments. We must all BE AWARE and remember that early detection is key. I am hoping that all women continue to have their yearly mammograms, clinical breast exams and do their breast self-exams. Kim Council Read my full Story at: http://richmondmetrowoman.com/directory/listing/kim_council_a_richmond_warrior_chic/ My name is Beth Frazier. I'm 31 years old, a wife and a daughter of 2. I was diagnosed with breast cancer July 24, 2012. Tomorrow marks my one year anniversary of my bi-lateral mastectomy. My mother had breast cancer, twice. My grandmother and her mother. My aunt and all of my female cousins. When my mother was diagnosed the second time, the Breast Cancer gene testing was just introduced. We jumped on the opportunity to have me tested. I came back negative. AWESOME! I'm safe! My mother was next to be tested - our doctor said sometimes it doesn't come in the form of a mutated gene. She came back negative. Back to square one. That was in 2003. Nine years later, I made the phone call to my mother. I didn't quite know what to say, but I knew if I started off with "Are you sitting down?" she would've known something was wrong. She answered the phone with her normal, cheerful "Hi Bethie". Here we go.....I'll never forget the sound of her crying when I told her "They found a lump." Everything from there went by so fast it all seems like a blur. There are moments where I remember every little detail and there are moments that perhaps my own mind has shut out. I have 2 daughters of my own. They are what drive me to help researchers find a cure. I've done all of the research I can, and I keep at it every single day. I'm hoping the semi-new high frequency ultrasound procedure from UVA will be approved before my daughters ever need it. If it's not - we move on to the next plan. We will find a cure. One day. Bet Frazier h View my full story at: http://richmondmetrowoman.com/directory/listing/beth_frazier_a_richmond_warrior_chic/ 10 Richmond Woman Magazine - where the men might wear the pants, but the women pick them out!