October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To honor breast cancer warriors everywhere, Macaroni Kid is reprinting this story from Macaroni Kid Florida publisher Angela Duncan.
I am a two-time breast cancer warrior.
I do not like the term survivor. Why? Because those who did not survive their breast cancer diagnosis are no less warriors than those of us who are still living.
We all became warriors once we heard the words "You have cancer.” It's a battle, a life changer, and, for those of who live to see the cancer eradicated, something that will haunt us for as long as we live. Every headache, muscle ache, minor cold... they remind us that we had cancer and that it could always come back anywhere at any moment.
October is breast cancer awareness month, not that I need a reminder to be aware. This is the time of year when we start seeing pink pop up everywhere, as if buying a pink can of soup will somehow find a cure. I wish this was the case.
I pray every single day that I can keep living and keep watching my boys grow up. I want to be there for every memory they have when they are older. I want to watch them graduate, go to college, become sports athletes, get married, have children... I want to be a grandmother.
The diagnosis
I was first diagnosed in 2009. I was 29. I remember finding the lump: I was on the phone. I reached under my armpit. I felt a gumball-sized nodule. 
At my next gynecologist visit, I mentioned it to my doctor, who brushed it off and said I was too young to be concerned about cancer. It was probably nothing.
But as I was leaving, she handed me a breast surgeon's card and said that if I was worried I could follow up with his office. Thank God that I did.
After many tests, ultrasounds, biopsies, and a lumpectomy, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
Chemotherapy and radiation followed. I harvested my eggs in fear the chemo would damage them.
And then joy: The treatments had worked. The cancer was gone.
Starting a family
I met my husband, Todd, at a breast cancer fundraiser just a few months later. Shortly after, I miraculously got pregnant -- it turned out my harvested eggs weren’t needed after all. We welcomed our little boy, Tyler, in 2011 and married in 2012.
I
t certainly seemed that life, which had thrown me a curveball in the form of breast cancer, was back on track for me.
But at my 2013 mammogram, my world fell out from beneath me again. The visit lasted for hours, and their concern was obvious.
A week later -- a long and emotional one for me -- my breast surgeon called me in for the results. His words, "I'm so sorry.”
I thought he was talking about the way his front office gave me a hard time regarding an insurance matter, but then realized he was saying the cancer was back. He started talking about a mastectomy.
I shut down.
Thank God my mom was there to listen because I didn't hear one word after he said the word mastectomy. I just remember walking back to the car in tears.
In June 2013, I had a double mastectomy. At the same time, the surgeon put expanders into my chest. Months of painful and uncomfortable checkups and expander fills followed, but by the end of August, doctors thought I was ready for reconstruction surgery.
But I felt like something wasn't right.
An unexpected blessing
I took a pregnancy test and when it came back positive, I didn’t believe the results. I grabbed Tyler, now a toddler, and headed to the drugstore for a second test.
Positive.
Life is unexpected. Anything can happen, but I feel that God blessed me with life to both remind me that mine was not over and that there was so much more of my life to live. 
I went through my second pregnancy with the expanders in my chest. I delivered another healthy boy in March of 2014. We named him Travis.
I finally had reconstruction surgery that July.
While all cancer patients' stories are different, we are all warriors. I have met so many incredible people -- including my very best friend -- because of my breast cancer diagnosis. But, sadly, I have also seen amazing women die.
I am sharing my story to remind you to check your breasts regularly for any changes -- not just in October, but every month. I also want to tell you to listen to your body. You are the one who knows your body best. If something doesn't feel right, follow up with a doctor. If I hadn’t listened to my gut instinct that something was wrong, there’s a good chance I would not be here today with my beautiful family.
And for my life, and for theirs, I am grateful every day.
Angela Duncan is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Apollo Beach - Ruskin - Wimauma, Florida.
