{"id":4943,"date":"2011-10-07T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2011-10-07T10:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/breast-cancer-survivor-becomes-mentor-to-recently-diagnosed-women\/"},"modified":"2011-10-07T10:10:00","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T10:10:00","slug":"breast-cancer-survivor-becomes-mentor-to-recently-diagnosed-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/breast-cancer-survivor-becomes-mentor-to-recently-diagnosed-women","title":{"rendered":"Breast Cancer Survivor Becomes Mentor to Recently Diagnosed Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"2:33pm | <\/strong>Mia found a lump one morning on her breast when she got out of the shower. She stared at her self in the mirror. How could this be when the reflection staring back at her was only 25 years old. She stood there silently wondering, could this really mean breast cancer? <\/p>\n

Standing in her bathroom, she immediately thought of her family tree. Mia\u2019s grandmother, on her mom\u2019s side had breast cancer, but neither her mom nor any of her mom\u2019s three sisters had breast cancer. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know if breast cancer skipped a generation or not,\u201d says Mia. \u201cBut I just had a feeling that it wasn\u2019t good.\u201d <\/p>\n

She first sought care at a different area hospital, where she got an ultrasound, which came back negative for breast cancer. But the nagging feeling inside of her, to find out more, would not subside. After the ultrasound, she asked for a mammogram and the staff dismissed this idea because she was too young.  <\/p>\n

That was not good enough for Mia. She ended up seeking treatment elsewhere and was able to finally get her mammogram, and a biopsy confirmed what the pit of her stomach already knew: she did indeed have breast cancer. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just told myself the reality is that I have breast cancer,\u201d says Mia. \u201cI was so young and still had so much to do \u2013 in fact, I felt like I hadn\u2019t had the chance to do anything. I wasn\u2019t married, I didn\u2019t have kids. I figured I had time to cry later, but, in that moment, I needed to figure out what I had to do right then?\u201d <\/p>\n

At the ripe old age of 25, she made the decision to have a total mastectomy on the right side, instead of getting a lumpectomy. Mia had to make the hard choice, but she felt that since her situation was so uncommon it was best to just remove her entire breast. Two weeks later she had total reconstructive surgery. While she was recovering from her surgery, she found out about the Women Guiding Women Mentor Program, known at the time as the Breast Friends Program, at the MemorialCare Breast Center at Long Beach Memorial. <\/p>\n

And in the strength that she found inside of herself \u2013 this new found strength that even surprised Mia \u2013 is where she would later discover her life\u2019s calling. <\/p>\n

Mia ended up becoming a mentee (the youngest one in the program) and was paired up with a mentor, Martina, from the Women Guiding Women Mentor Program. This changed everything for Mia. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are dealing with cancer, you are trying to process so much,\u201d says Mia. \u201cNot only are you trying to process the fact that you have cancer, but you\u2019re learning a whole new medical vocabulary, trying to keep the different physicians and treatments straight. And to have someone who has gone through the process, to talk to, who\u2019s been there and walked in your shoes is amazing. My family was so supportive and loving, but they didn\u2019t really know or understand what I was going through like Martina did. It was like Martina broke in my running shoes for me, before I was about to compete in a marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n

As soon as Mia could apply to be a mentor, one year out of treatment, she did. She took the four month training class where she met with oncologists and nurses, did role play and learned proper etiquette on how to talk to someone who is recently diagnosed with cancer. <\/p>\n

It just so happened that Mia\u2019s very first mentee also happened to be diagnosed in her 20\u2019s as well. Mia carefully guided and supported her mentee through her diagnosis and they became fast friends. They went to lunch together every Friday, Mia attended her doctor\u2019s appointment, went to her mentee\u2019s family functions and even taught her the value of throwing a \u201csurvivor dinner\u201d for her friends and family on the anniversary of her diagnosis. They have become much for than mentor and mentees to each other, they have become extended family.  <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like everything happens for a reason,\u201d says Mia. \u201cMy story was meant to go on, so I want to do as much as I can to help others. Whether it\u2019s sharing different treatment options, just being the shoulder to cry on or sharing my strength with a smile, I want to help.\u201d  <\/p>\n

Surviving cancer has a high price. Mia has been on tamoxifen for nearly five years \u2013 leaving her with post menopausal side effects. But she\u2019s happy knowing that on Feb. 5 she\u2019ll celebrate her 5 year anniversary of being cancer free, and will then be truly dubbed a \u201csurvivor\u201d according to cancer survival rate data.  <\/p>\n

\u201cThis cancer diagnosis has made me a better person,\u201d says Mia. \u201cIt gave me clear direction on who I want to be as a person and what I want to do as a profession. It sounds clich\u00e9, but I learned that life is too short to sweat the small stuff. You need to be happy and it feels so good to give back and help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia has plans to be an x-ray tech. Just like the x-ray tech, who changed her life, just by being kind and caring every time Mia saw her for another appointment. One thing is for certain, the survivor dinner that Mia will undoubtedly throw for herself on Nov. 3 should have a minimum of five courses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diagnosed with Breast Cancer at Age 25, Mia Now is Months Away from Celebrating her 5-Year Survivor Anniversary & Is Hooked On Mentoring <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":69911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4943"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=4943"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}