For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’re handing over the blog to someone who’s not only passionate about content strategy and operations but also happens to be a breast cancer survivor.

That’s me. Stacy Alyse Simon, Director, Content Strategy & Operations at Sephirus Communications. Hi. 👋

This is my sixth October as a card-carrying member of the Breast Cancer Survivor Club (actually, the only card they gave me has my breast implant serial numbers). According to Wikipedia – the gold standard of medical information, obviously – this means I’m a “person with cancer of any type who is still living.”

TL;DR: I’m still here, I’m still standing, and I’m absolutely still showing up to oncology and breast cancer specialist appointments like it’s a VIP event, I’m on the guest list and I really want that swag bag of goodies.

Let’s rewind for a second.

I’ve got a strong family resume when it comes to breast cancer. My paternal grandmother passed away from it in her 40s (1967 – a very different time for breast cancer treatment) and my mom is also a survivor after being diagnosed in her early 50s.

So, with that lineage, my doctors basically said, “Hey, let’s keep a super close eye on you.” Meaning: BRCA testing (negative), genomic risk assessment (47% likelihood before age 50), several biopsies, and alternating between mammograms in the winter and MRIs in the summer – like it was a recurring agenda item no one questioned anymore.

Then came my winter 2018 mammogram, which literally said I “probably do not have breast cancer.”

Probably.
A word you want to hear when you’re playing the lottery, not when you’re reading radiology results.

Fast forward to a late-night phone call in the summer of 2019. And let’s be real: when your doctor calls you at 9:26 PM, they’re not checking in to discuss the latest viral Netflix series.

Spoiler alert: I had a tumor, likely at least a year old – like an unapproved image in a final FDA submission: inconvenient, annoying, and absolutely not supposed to be there.

Since then…

I’ve done the rounds: surgeries, therapies, medications, infusions, side effects, the whole pink-colored ride.

But here’s the good news: breast cancer is not the death sentence it was for my grandmother. Just as I see our Pharma and Biotech clients making incredible advances in treatments across the board, breast cancer care has come so far. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

So, here’s my plea to you:

If you’ve been putting off your mammogram, go schedule it. Like, right now.

I’ll wait.

Okay, maybe I won’t actually wait — but you get the idea.

And if you’re under 35 and thinking, “Eh, I’ve got time,” consider having a conversation with your doctor about your family history. That’s what led to my early detection. And trust me, catching it early is like realizing your “final_final_v2_revised_REAL” file isn’t the one you uploaded to the live site before you send out the URL: way easier to manage.

Breast cancer is serious. But your action can be simple.

Screenings save lives. Let’s normalize talking about it, sharing our stories, and reminding the people we love to make that appointment.

Now go. Get squished. đź’–

#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth #GetChecked #BreastCancerSurvivor