Delaware Campus Recreation

Fitness Instructor

"I was 34 years old when I was diagnosed. At the time, I was pregnant. I found the lump when I was lying in bed just scratching my chest. It felt to me like an eraser under my skin, one of those hard erasers. So, I called the doctor. They initially thought that it could have been glandular, since I was pregnant, and they got me in the next day. It turned out that it was not glandular.

My initial thoughts were more concern for my family because I didn’t want them to worry. I really felt that I was going to be OK. I knew that I was strong enough to handle it but my concern was for my daughter, who was 2 at the time, and my family.

I did take a more radical approach than other people do, but it worked for me. I had stage 1 breast cancer, and the doctors recommended that I get a lumpectomy. But I wanted it to be gone and have nowhere to come back. So, I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy, and thankfully I did, because they found another lump that they would not have taken out had I gotten the lumpectomy.

I think that being physically fit going into any type of illness, whether it be cancer or something else, is huge. It’s a lot about your attitude and mindset. I knew I was strong enough going into it and I knew that I would be strong enough coming out of it. But there were days that sucked going through it and there still are days that suck. I have lymphedema so I wear a sleeve. My skin is different, my hair is different, my nails are different. My body is not the same from taking the medicine. So, there are days that still suck. I really just try to breathe in and out and let it go because time is just too precious. That is something that It will teach you - that time is too precious to waste on worrying.

I have always worked out. I have played sports since I was a little girl. And I have always been into fitness. I teach Les Mills classes - so I teach BodyFlow, BodyPump, Sprint. At University of Delaware, I teach Exercise & Conditioning. When I started working in fitness, it was a year after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was important to me to give back and show people that they can work out before, during and after.

I got my tattoo a year after I was diagnosed. I put it on my left ankle because the cancer was on my left side and I put it on the back of my ankle because so that I could remember it but have it be behind me.

I have been cancer-free for 10 years this past summer. I feel so blessed that I am here and caught it early because not everybody does. Early detection is just so important, so I always encourage people to check their bodies from head to toe. I used to just get the pink stripe in my hair during October but then people commented so much that I keep it year-round. I got it so that people could ask me about it and then I could tell them to check their body. I sport pink all year."