#ayacancer

I met Jesus Christ…

He told me the exact moment your parents will be sent to limbo after throwing away the baby at your birth and keeping the placenta to raise as the child and coward who messages me this bile!

Not MY fault that only bile comes out of your mouth because your mother mixed gasoline and alcohol down her fat throat all throughout her pregnancy,

I’ve raw dogged the Grim Reapers scythe—. Pleasured myself in Gehenna and came back to Earth…

[photo from September 2020] IT IS AYA (Adolescent and Young Adult) CANCER AWARENESS WEEK. I’ll be sharing throughout the week, but here are just a few of my thoughts that I want to share. The Hippocratic Oath states “Do no harm.” However, story after story in the AYA Cancer Community proves that physicians are indeed doing harm. They are doing harm by not listening to their patients when they…

In April 2016, at the age of 37, I discovered an egg-sized lump in my left breast that wasn't there the previous day, when I had happened to do a self-breast exam. I saw my doctor the same day. By the time I had my mammogram 3 days later, the lump was the size of my fist. It was not long until I was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer.

My hair had been very long for 25 years. I felt it was a large part of my identity. Two weeks into chemotherapy, I cried bitterly as my hair began falling out in handfuls. I cried non-stop until the next day, when my sister and friends came over and we shaved my head into a Mohawk, then coloured it with hair chalk for several days of hilarity until the rest of my hair fell out.

Other than the day I lost my hair, I have managed to find the funny side in everything. I wore brightly coloured wigs and silly hats, and rocked my bald head and invited everyone to rub it for good luck (theirs and mine). Friends and family rallied to support me, and I made my first contact with YACC via the online chat group.Almost exactly a year after my diagnosis, after 8 rounds of chemo, a lumpectomy that took about half of my left breast, an infection in my surgical site, and a 33 radiation treatments, a routine follow-up CT scan showed the cancer had migrated into my lungs. My oncologist cried when she told me. I was dumbstruck as I didn't see it coming.

Fortunately, my wonderful oncologist had already found me an immunotherapy study at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and I joined as soon as I could and began two years of regular infusions of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. I continued to work as much as I could, although over several months I found myself getting weaker and feeling sick to my stomach, often unable to face food. My boyfriend at the time, Shin, agreed with me that it was time to stop putting off getting married, after more than six years together. In September 2017, we wed to the cheers and tears of my mother, sister, and many of the people we love the most.

The treatment worked. After two years of immunotherapy, my course of treatment ended in April 2019. Since that time, my cancer has neither grown nor spread. My quarterly scans show everything is at a standstill, and although I'm not 100% as well as I was before cancer, I feel very well and would not know I have it any more if not for the evidence on the scan images.Since joining YACC, I have attended two Survivor Conferences, two Virtual Survivor Conferences, Retreat Yourself Ontario, and many Localife and online group events. The support I have gotten from YACC and the huge number of friends I have made there have helped me stay positive through everything. They have also provided help and support to Shin and to my sister, Gillian.

So here's my chance to give back! Last time I lost my hair, it was a very sad and emotionally difficult event. This time, I have grown my hair long and not coloured it at all, with the intent of not only Shaving for the Brave, but donating it to be used for wigs for other cancer patients.

If you are able, please consider supporting my fundraising effort. Your online donations are made over a secure connection and you will automatically be emailed a tax receipt.

This cause is so important to me. Over 8,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer every year in Canada, that’s about 22/day.

All donations to the Shave for the Brave help Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) provide programs to help this "forgotten generation."

For more information, check out shaveforthebrave.ca and youngadultcancer.ca. Have a question? Email YACC at [email protected] or call 877-571-7325.

Thank you for your generous support!

@lilydickens

Just reminding everyone that not all of the vulnerable people are elderly- 33 year old stem cell transplant recipient ❤️✌🏼