I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of 2021 at the age of 36 with two small children. Within the first hour of my diagnosis, I was in a surgeon's office at my local clinic hearing words like neoadjuvant chemotherapy, mastectomy, radiation, prognosis, and genetic testing. I spent the first few weeks in a numb, sad fog, worrying about everything that this diagnosis brought with it. Would my children grow up without a mother? Do I have genetic mutations that predispose my own children to this disease? Am I going to be in pain? Has the cancer metastasized to other parts of my body? Will I lose my hair? How am I going to feel after a mastectomy? Aren't I too young for cancer?

At the time of my diagnosis, I had been working at Mayo Clinic for just shy of a year. When I shared my diagnosis with my manager, she immediately told me to get a second opinion at Mayo Clinic. Since I don't live close to a Mayo Clinic campus, all of my workup had been at my local clinic. I was able to establish care within the week, and my husband and I traveled down to Rochester. I was not prepared for the magnitude of a Mayo Clinic visit - they had my day packed from morning to afternoon. It was during my first visit with my breast surgeon that I met her nurse, Becky. I had spent weeks without being able to smile, without being able to enjoy my children because just looking at them caused me heartache and worry. I had been walking around with a dark cloud over me. Becky walked into the room, and my dark cloud disappeared. For the first time in three weeks, I laughed. I smiled a genuine smile. Becky was funny and so kind, and she was the person who lifted me out of the darkest part of my cancer journey. She didn't walk into the room feeling pity or sadness toward me - she exuberated joy, and her joy infiltrated my sadness. She stayed in the room with me until all my questions about surgery were answered - never rushing me or making me feel like I was keeping her too long.

She continues to be a bright spot in my cancer journey - she was the pivotal moment where my sadness and worry turned to joy and hope again. I can't tell you exactly what she told me during that office visit, but I can tell you how she made me feel. And I'm endlessly grateful that Becky was my nurse that day.