Ray Janeen

My Story – My Call to Action

I know firsthand what if feels like to have your world change in an instant. In 2015, the Saturday before Father’s Day, I put my hand on my chest and I felt a lump. The lump was not small. It was obvious that something was wrong. After going to a breast specialist and radiologist I received a diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and that I carried the BRCA 2 gene.

From 2015 to 2020, while caring for my elderly mother, I underwent chemotherapy and five surgeries in eight months, including a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy. The reality of never having biological children hit hard. I’m adopted and I always wanted to have a child that looked like me. I lost my hair and gained weight. I experienced anxiety, shortness of breath, joint pain, a change in my eyesight, and constant exhaustion, among other ailments, issues, and disappointments. I did not feel attractive, I did not feel like myself and I didn’t recognize myself.

In January 2016, I completed chemotherapy and I was able to “ring the bell” at MD Anderson Medical Center, celebrating the accomplishment of completing chemotherapy. All I remember feeling was, “but now how do I live?” After the trauma of a cancer diagnosis, life changes and disappointments, how do I live? I knew I could not be the only one feeling this way… not having the tools to live my “new normal,” to truly live after cancer. My purpose is to help you live! I want to remind the world that there is life after cancer. And what if you live?