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THE EVOLVING WOMAN MAGAZINE
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SARAH FLYNN Being a breast cancer warrior is a badge of honor you carry well. Tell us about your journey. What were some of the emotions you struggled with during that period? Where did you find support? What message of hope do you have for women facing cancer? I will be very honest and say that this is the first time I am publicly speaking about my journey through cancer. Thank you for giving me this incredible platform to be able to share my experience with other women. Being diagnosed with breast cancer was singularly the most terrifying moment of my life. I was diagnosed right after I turned 41, which is very young. I went to my annual exam, and my routine mammogram quickly turned into a diagnostic mammogram. Which turned into a biopsy. Which turned into surgery. Which turned into radiation. It was a cascade of tests full of bad news, and nothing can fully capture how terrifying it was to hear them say the “C” word. It was Christmastime. I was a single mom. I had just begun dating the man of my dreams. This couldn’t be happening to me. But as a team, we kicked cancer to the curb – my kids, my (now) husband, and an incredible group of friends and family who did everything from folding my laundry to kissing away my tears. Approximately eight months later, after two lumpectomies and radiation therapy, I rang that blessed bell at the doctor’s office to celebrate being cancer free. But it wasn’t over yet.
T H E E V O LV I N G W O M A N - 3 0 -
MARCH 2021
