Editor's Note: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Sounders FC and the American Cancer Society released a 2016 calendar featuring Sounders players and Seattle-area breast cancer survivors. The calendar is currently available at all Sounders FC Pro Shop locations, and all proceeds will be donated to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Seattle, the local affiliate of the American Cancer Society. SoundersFC.com asked the survivors featured in the calendar to submit their stories, and the third in this series was provided by Breeze Dahlberg (above, with Osvaldo Alonso). Here's the first in the series, and here's the second in the series.
My name is Breeze Dahlberg. I am a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend and I am a breast cancer survivor.
Buy the calendar nowIt was Sunday Oct 7th 2012, and we spent the day at Century Link cheering (and screaming) for our Seattle Sounders as they battled the Timbers. But in the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong. Earlier that morning, before leaving for the game, I had felt a lump in my right breast. I was very was grateful for the distraction of the game, but knew I would be calling my doctor first thing the morning on Monday.
On Oct 12th, 2012 at age 34, I heard the words you never want to hear, “I’m sorry, it’s cancer." All I knew in that moment was cancer = death. Who will be there for my girls? (They were only 2 and 7 years old at the time).
On my knees in my daughter’s room, I made a promise to God: “Lord, see me through this, give me the strength to fight and survive this cancer. Let me live for my girls and I promise to use my life and my voice to help other mothers survive and beat cancer too.”
With stage 2, triple negative cancer, plus testing positive for the BRCA1 gene, my fight was tough. It was a year of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, reconstruction surgeries, and most recently a partial hysterectomy. The pain and grief of losing pieces of yourself along with the loss of precious time with my little girls, is something I don’t think anyone could prepare for.
Gratitude has been a common thread throughout my treatment and every day since. My girls and I celebrate the little (and big) “wins” along the way together and don’t waste time or energy on “why me” moments. We called my chemo port my “power port” – and to my girls I became a superhero like Iron Man. Mommy Incredible. So if they believed, I had to too!
My first surgery and day of my first chemo, my doctor said “today’s a great day to start killing this cancer”. I heard, “it’s go time, game on!” And on my last reconstruction surgery almost a year later my surgeon said “today we get you into the end zone” – and I’m pretty sure we even high-fived. We did it, we kicked cancer’s butt! – As a HUGE Hawks fan and sports nut in general, my docs knew exactly how to inspire me to fight for my life!
Today, I am on a “fight like a girl” mission, and dedicated to the goal that our daughters, sisters and mothers won’t have to fight this same battle.
