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You are going to have some bad days, and that’s okay, but the good days have to outweigh the bad ones. You have to put your mind into beating breast cancer. -Theresa Jay
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we’re profiling inspiring survivors with incredible stories to tell. My friendship with today’s guest began in 2006 when I donated my wedding dress to her charity. Theresa Jay is the Founder of the Pink Rose Foundation www.pinkrose.org which provides scholarships to college-bound students who have lost a parent to breast cancer. To date, the charity has awarded over 100,000 dollars in scholarships. Diagnosed at only 41 with stage 3B metastatic breast cancer, there was a time when she thought she might not live to see her son and daughter grow up and go off to college, but here she is today, a 25-year survivor. Determined to play an active role in her treatment and recovery, Theresa became her own best advocate. Her mastectomy was performed after four grueling rounds of chemotherapy and when her pathology revealed 17 active lymph nodes, she asked her care team for stem cell therapy and enrollment in a clinical trial for a drug called Herceptin. Says Theresa: Even if the clinical trial and all the other treatments didn’t work , I felt that it was my responsibility to be a part of breast cancer research for the next generation of women.” 18 months of treatments exhausted her in mind, body and soul, but during that time in her life, Theresa refused to give up or give in. “My love for my
children propelled me through the toughest days. I just couldn’t see anyone else raising my children. I got dressed every day, regardless of how badly I felt, and I put my makeup on. You look good, you feel better”. When her treatments were finally over, Theresa went right back to work as an engineer and launched the Pink Rose Foundation. In this interview, she’s got a lot of wisdom to share including advice for someone who is just getting started on her breast cancer journey: Take a day and cry. Process it. And then, the next day, wake up and decide you are going to WIN.” For 22 minutes with a survivor who beat the odds, just hit that download button. #breastcancer #metastaticbreastcancer #breastcancerawarenessmonth #courage #hope #grateful.