Clare Schexnyder, a 47-year-old, active mother and the co-owner and founder of Oh Baby! Fitness, was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.
“I went to my yearly visit with my doctor,” says Schexnyder. “She said, ‘You need to go for your mammogram.’ And I said ‘Ok, I’ll schedule it in the next couple of weeks.’ And I literally did. If I hadn’t had the mammogram, I wouldn’t have known that I have Stage 2 breast cancer.”
Coping with cancer
Schexnyder was shocked by the diagnosis.
“My first response was like, ‘Really? Now when I’m the most exhausted is when I have to have the biggest battle of my life?’” she says.
And though Schexnyder still feels healthy, she knows she will need treatment.
“I don’t feel sick,” explains Schexnyder. “But if I don’t do something about it, it will kill me.”
Telling her daughter
The first person Schexnyder told about her diagnosis was her 11-year-old daughter.
“My husband was out of town traveling, and I went upstairs and I said, ‘Its cancer,’” says Schexnyder. “And she looked at me and she said, ‘Well that’s good. We know what it is. We’ll get it out. And you’re going to be ok.’”
Schexnyder is scheduled to have a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery on October 30th.
NOTE: Patients should consult with their physicians to determine when and how frequently they should have a mammogram.
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