Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

By Caitlin Edmunds, Contributing Editor

Cancer sucks and there's no denying it. It took a lot from me... it took my energy, my attention and focus on most days if not all days, my naivety, my time and a whole lot of my hair (which in all honesty was one of the hardest parts).

Photography by: Carlie Statsky

But it also gave me a new found appreciation for each and every day. To stop and enjoy all the little things and realize that life is too short to be mad at the crappy driver in front of you or stress over the one email that you didn't get to but meant to before leaving the office. It taught me that the human body is an incredible thing, and the amount of trauma and hardship it can endure and bounce back from is incredible. It taught me that I am way stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. But most importantly it showed me that my tribe is the best tribe.

It was 234 days from diagnoses to my last day of active treatment...

130 cold cap changes,

120+ self injections,

about 50 doctors appointments,

30 rounds of radiation,

25 blood draws,

20 doctors,

18 ultrasounds,

8 rounds of chemotherapy,

4 lymph nodes removed,

3 MRIs,

2 port surgeries,

1 full body PET scan,

1 CT scan,

1 egg retrieval surgery and

1 lumpectomy surgery.

My life will never be the same and forever more will be split into BC and AC (thats after cancer, not Adriamycin for my cancer folks). Since I found my lump through an at home self-exam and have made it my ongoing mission to bring awareness and education to other young women out there. I am so lucky to have found so much love, support and inspiration throughout the entire cancer community, but especially the triple negative gals!

Here is a link to my Caring Bridge site that I used to update family and friends: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/caitlinedmunds/