“In July of 2009, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Prior to that, I had a lot of things that happened in my life. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I had an eating disorder. You name it, I had it. So when they told me I had breast cancer, that was the last thing I thought I would get. But when I got it, I was like ok this is my time to take the walk. I had the surgery. I went through 3 months of chemo. I finished chemo in October and I did 25 rounds of radiation that ended December 31st. So going into 2010, I was done with it. I really tried to stay positive throughout the whole process. My husband and I kept saying we are going to kick cancers ass. We were very humbled by all the love and giving from others. I learned that people really want to help. I try not to dwell on the past. They say stress can be a number one factor. I have internal stress that I keep trying to release. Exercising helps. I always feel so good when I exercise. Right now, I feel like I want fitness to be a bigger part of my life again. It’s just trying to put it all back in and to stay on top of things. When people ask me what I want out of life I just say I want happiness. Happiness is always what I strive for.”