The Day That Changed My Life - Cancer & Pregnancy

The excitement of having a baby comes with it's own share of anxieties, hoping for a smooth pregnancy, safe delivery and a healthy baby. So the last thing anyone expects to hear is "you also have cancer." Each journey shared is different with ages/stages of life, yet the common theme shared is that there is still hope.

Crying, crazy thoughts, decisions, crippling fears, overwhelmed, depressed, uncertainty and so much more........ Normal emotions.

Anya Silver was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, an uncommon and particularly aggressive type of cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, inflammatory breast cancer accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States. It tends to be diagnosed in younger women compared to non-IBC breast cancer. It occurs more frequently and at a younger age in African Americans than in Whites. Like other types of breast cancer, IBC can occur in men, but usually at an older age than in women. The symptoms include, redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast, often without a distinct lump in the breast. The redness and warmth are caused by cancer cells blocking the lymph vessels in the skin. The skin of the breast may also appear pink, reddish purple, or bruised.

Listen to Anya's journey:



Here's forty something year old Joan Dymand-Hintz's journey:



Lisa Peterson Bender & Ryan Bender share how the diagnosis affected their lives - their journey:

We're praying for a safe delivery for the Benders whose due date is on March 17th!!!