As this year draws to a close, we here at SurviveDAT have been looking back and thinking of all the young women whose paths have crossed with ours. As they have shared their stories with us, you can see in their words and hear in their voices their determination to beat this thing invading their bodies. We are thankful to be able to be a part of their journey, and hopefully making it easier to bear.

Young women facing breast cancer often feel alone, and can face issues that older women dealing with breast cancer never have to, ranging from dating and intimacy concerns to decisions about how to preserve fertility options before starting cancer treatment.

"Hi sweetie, I have something very important to tell you." Although I was only 8 years old, I could tell that my mother’s kind tone was only a gentle precursor for what she was about to say. She gazed at me with a sincere face and tears in her eyes as she explained to me that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She said that our lives would be quite different for a while. My mother, at the time, was 38 years old.

It will not come as a surprise to anyone reading this that smoking is bad for health – in big important ways and in some less life-threatening, but undesirable ways. As someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, I sincerely hope that if you are a nonsmoker your commitment to not smoke will be reinforced by what you read here and if you are a smoker that you will seize the opportunity to prevent adverse health effects by battling and beating cigarette addiction.

I remember very vividly when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. My mother was in her fifties and me and my siblings were all grown, starting our careers and family. I remember all those emotions; wanting to do something to make it better, but not knowing what to do. And my father seemed nearly paralyzed with fear and a sense of helplessness.