My name is Bernice, and I was personally affected by breast cancer. I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in November 2018. I went through all the stages and options including genetic testing. I specifically had the BRCA1 gene, from my fathers side of the family. Since I have a twin sister, I suggested for her to also get tested and unfortunately she too was diagnosed shortly after me. I feel like I saved my sister's life because had I not gotten cancer, then she wouldn’t have known she had cancer. We went through it together; we do everything together. They make fun of us, they tell us you can’t do anything alone, even cancer.
Trying to live a life after cancer is hard, but if you have the will you can do it. You just have to get back to living life. It may not be beautiful and roses. I still have to take medication for 8 more years since the cancer could come back. They took 12 lymph nodes out of my arm because they found cancer in them, so I have to take a pill that microscopically kills cancer in the body.
It was honestly a lot to process and adapt to but I stayed on top of treatments and had the support from family and my pet which made all the difference in my journey. Both my sister and I survived thankfully. My advice would be to never give up, seek positivity, and stay close to family to overcome this disease.
