Kimberly Abbott:  

Wow. Life certainly changed over the last year. On February 22nd of 2007, I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Left Breast. Since that time, I was treated at the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, DC. I have completed my chemotherapy treatments and most surgeries. This has definitely given me a far greater appreciation of what my mom went through many years ago. Due to my family history, my oncologist advised an extremely aggressive treatment plan. I had bilateral mastectomies with immediate expander reconstruction, an implanted port for lab draws and medication administration. This was followed after some recovery time by 4 treatments of Adriamycin and Cytoxan and then on 2 treatments with Taxol. I wasn't able to complete all four treatments as I had a reaction to the Taxol. Each course of treatment had it's grueling side effects. The worst is lingering peripheral neuropathy which has caused some gait disturbance. Okay, I now waddle! I use a walker or a cane to get around... I do get all of the cushy parking spots.... The worst thing... I WANNA DANCE!! hehe I'm here, I'm alive. I'm not gonna complain. Two more surgeries late last year and I thought I was done... Not quite yet. The tumor was a triple-negative (rarest combination, least known and as of now, no additional therapy past surgery and iv chemo, radiation) Last su...Expand for more