My name is Jenny Maynard. I am 43 years old, a mother of two beautiful children, and a wife of over twenty-22 years to an amazing husband. I have spent almost half of my life as an educator, wife, student. My life was just chugging right along and then...
In November 2014, everything came to a screeching halt. I have always tried to perform a self-examination on my breasts every month or so, but I had forgotten about it for a few months. I decided one night before bedtime to go ahead and do a check and came across what felt like a small, pea-sized lump in my left breast. Because I am Fibrocystic and have dense breast tissue, I kind of passed it off as just general lumpiness, but on February 11, 2015, I found out otherwise. I was diagnosed with Stage 2, Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer. I had a lumpectomy to remove my tumor and a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy to check for metastatic cancer in my lymph nodes. I was extremely relieved to find that both of my nodes were clear. One month later, on my 40th birthday, I began the long journey of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. I was devastated, angry, scared, unsure, and completely out of my mind emotional. But, in the midst of my story, I found unimaginable love, guidance, strength, and peace. And now, it is my job to share it as a source of inspiration to those who feel that they have no hope and can't seem to find themselves in the midst of their trials. |