My Diagnosis Story: The Day Everything Changed
On December 17, 2024, my world shifted in a way I never could have imagined. I was on the phone with my doctor (I was not even in person because she knew I had just been at her office sick a few days before). She had sent me for an ultrasound after some cramping and was calling with the results. Honestly, I thought we were both overreacting and it would come back as nothing. Instead, she told me I had a 7 cm “mass”. In that moment, the air seemed to leave my lungs. I went cold. This was too large to be anything but cancer. Fear took over, my mind racing with questions: Had it spread? What stage was it? Would I live to see my children grow up? I left with no answers, only shock and the weight of a reality I wasn’t prepared for.
The days that followed were some of the hardest of my life. I had to wait 3 full weeks before learning more. It was Christmas, a time usually filled with joy, magic, and family traditions. But behind every smile I gave my kids, there was an undercurrent of fear. I tried to stay present—baking cookies, watching holiday movies, and wrapping gifts—but my mind never stopped wandering to the unknown. Would this be my last Christmas with them?
In the waiting, I turned to what I could control. I began a massive declutter of my house, creating order in the physical space around me when my internal world felt so chaotic. Every drawer I organized, every bag I donated, became a small act of reclaiming power over my life.
Finally, in January 2025, the specialist told me that based on my CT scan he was 99% sure it was kidney cancer but I would need surgery to remove the mass either way. My care team quickly scheduled surgery, and soon after, I underwent a radical nephrectomy to remove my entire right kidney.
The journey was beyond overwhelming, but I also felt an unexpected sense of resilience rising in me. Cancer changes everything—your health, your routines, your perspective—but it also awakens a deeper appreciation for life. I held my children tighter, savored the quiet moments, and began to see wellness not just as fitness or nutrition, but as caring for my mind, body, and soul in every possible way. I changed my diet completely and began researching non-toxic products to prevent recurrence.
I’m opening up about my diagnosis story because no one should feel they are walking this path alone. A cancer diagnosis can feel like being dropped into a storm without a map, but within that storm we often discover hidden reserves of courage, unexpected gratitude, and a renewed sense of what it means to truly live. This is the first chapter of my healing and wellness journey—a story still being written—and by sharing it, I hope to be a small light for others finding their way through the darkness.