10 years have passed, and I still remember the first time I heard the words “invasive ductal carcinoma”. From my limited knowledge of medical terminology, I knew this meant I had breast cancer – the last thing I expected to hear at the young age of 28.

The following several days were full of assessments, visits with three new specialists, scans, bloodwork, and a chemo prep course – one kind nurse said it was likely akin to being on the amazing race.

Eight short months later (yeah right) – after six cycles of chemo, a double mastectomy, and 25 radiation treatments, along with all the fun side effects – I was considered “cancer free”. My scans might have been saying that, but my body said otherwise. The fatigue from chemo and radiation was like nothing I’d ever experienced.

Life did eventually return to normal, and I was so fortunate it did, since the next several years were filled with wonderful experiences and memories. I had several incredible trips with my boyfriend and my family, added another Schnauzer to my fur babies, and got engaged and married in beautiful Nova Scotia. After this, I started to feel like cancer was finally behind me.

Unfortunately, I was wrong! In October 2020, I suddenly developed symptoms of jaundice. After additional scans and bloodwork, I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer with metastases to the pancreas, liver, and bile duct. At the age of 34, I had won the cancer lottery again!

The hardest thing to come to terms with this time was that there would be no moving beyond cancer. My oncologist informed me that after six cycles of chemo, I would continue with antibody treatment every three weeks until it stopped working or became intolerable due to side effects.   

I have been very fortunate that almost five years later, my first line antibody treatment is still working, and I have had three years with no evidence of metastatic disease.

During that time, I continued to hear how healthy I looked and how good I was doing. I struggled significantly with this, since I did not feel this way at all, but didn’t know how to explain it to my doctors or even to my family and friends. I was never outwardly judged, but always felt like people were wondering why I had not returned to work. Even though I was “just” on a maintenance treatment, I still couldn’t do the things I enjoyed previously while I was working full time – walking and playing with my pups, camping, hiking, and boating with my husband. Not only that, but sometimes doing a load of laundry or cooking a meal felt like a real chore. I did not necessarily feel any more tired, but seemed to have a lot of trouble keeping up.

I had amazing support from friends and family, but it was still difficult at times not to feel alone in this struggle. Luckily, once I became involved with Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) and attended their virtual and in-person events, I found a new community of people who felt the same way and could relate.

It was through YACC that I was made aware of Cancer Fatigue Services (CFS). In December of last year, I presented for my initial assessment and was finally validated in how I was feeling. When the team further explained cancer fatigue to me and just how complex it was, I began to understand why I’d been feeling so limited.

CFS treated me as a whole, not just my cancer. Not only that, but once they provided me with my personalized care plan, I also finally felt like I had regained some control over my life. I was given a very specific exercise prescription that allowed me to make sure I didn’t overdo it. After my first six weeks, I had gains in my muscle mass and other markers of fitness. More importantly though, despite doing more throughout the day, I had more energy and have been able to enjoy my evenings with my husband and my dogs.  

Since working with CFS and the services they referred me to, my mental health and sleep have improved. There have also been positive changes to my nutrition – and this is coming from someone who worked as a Dietitian for 10 years – we can always learn something new.