Elissa Parsons

In 1998, during my first year of marriage, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. No one expects to hear the words cancer and certainly not me at the age of 29 with no history of it in my family. 

I remember walking into the cancer wing of one hospital and thinking, this is me… I am a cancer patient.  Well, I will tell you that today I don’t remember a lot about that time. I can’t tell you the medicines I had to take or even all my doctor’s names, but what I can tell you is that I remember the great humor my husband showed when I needed it most and the wonderful kindness of friends and family. Imagine your husband attempting Michael Jackson dance moves to the music playing while they tattoo the color on your new boob? 

Someone said that this will make you a stronger person. This will make your marriage stronger. I wanted to yell in their face, we are strong now! Looking back, I know that they were right. I learned that my husband’s love never wavered; he never once looked at me or treated me differently.   

I was worried in the beginning; would I always feel this tightness in my chest? Would I always be so aware of my breast missing? That feeling does pass and now I can say that most days go by and I don’t even give it a second thought. 

Breast cancer is something that happened to me. It is a part of who I am today but it doesn’t define me. 

I am a nine-year cancer survivor. I have a healthy, wonderful five-year-old son. I am about to celebrate my ten-year wedding anniversary. I exercise almost every day. I know for sure that no one in my kickboxing class would ever guess that I once had breast cancer. I stand up there front and center and give it my all each week. I am stronger than I have ever been. 

This is my story.

Elissa Parsons