“I was in the Marine core for twenty years and was the picture of fitness. After retirement, I took on a stressful job, and after that, I took on a really great promotion that led to even more stress. I attribute [my cancer] to stress.

I was the one who found the lump. I must have had a dozen mammograms before that, but I was the one who found it. You’ve got to feel for it yourself, and you’ve got to know what you’re feeling for. My doctor wanted to do chemotherapy, radiation, and Tamoxifen. The lump and thirteen lymph nodes were taken out and, luckily, all my margins were clear and my lymph nodes were negative. I was told I had only a two or three percent chance of it ever coming back if I did radiation, so I’m just doing radiation — no chemo, no drugs. So every morning I go for radiation at the same time.

Otherwise, I’m fine. This was a real awakening for me. I’m watching my diet, eating healthy, doing a lot of physical fitness at the gym. It’s been a 360-degree change for me. Now I’m just onto the next stage — Will it come back? Am I clear? I got rid of my stressful job and an abusive roommate and I’m taking care of myself. But it’s rampant. It’s crazy. Everybody you talk to either knows somebody or is in the middle of it.”