Meet Kelsey Bucci - you can follow her @kelseybucci

Meet @kelseybucci. An amazing woman, survivor, mama, and advocate. She reminds us to find the CAN in Cancer and to always fight for what you believe in. This is her story.

As a military wife I have moved eight times in eleven years. I was excited for our move to Savannah but a few weeks after our move and my 30th birthday I found a lump in my left breast.

It took months to get a final diagnosis, biopsies came back inconclusive, and I was relying on doctors who had no sense of urgency when it came to my life. Pathology was taking weeks, and mentally I was having a hard time trying to keep it all together in the face of my 4 children. Finally, after a horrible experience with a surgeon I said f*** this and researched my own team of doctors. By the time I got to them I went from Stage I to Stage IIB and was formally diagnosed with triple positive IDC and DCIS, but I was now with a team who cared!

With no history of cancer in my family, I had no idea what treatment actually looked like. From the moment I heard the words cancer, I knew I wanted a bilateral mastectomy. It was something I was so sure of. I got mixed emotions from my family and friends who couldn’t understand it. In the beginning, I tried to fight this on my own, not telling anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. I quickly discovered how lonely that was. So, I opened up, I started seeking out women who had been through this and could help me, mentally.

It is sad that a cancer diagnosis has to happen in order for you to stop making excuses and actually live your life! To choose to be happy through a time that seems so dark. I can say that I have never felt more “me”, even without nipples! And I think the reason behind that is because for once in my life I put myself first! I put my health first! After getting through chemo, radiation, and surgeries, I started @shopparislaundry, a central place for women going through treatment to find confidence in the non-toxic products they are putting on their bodies 🙌🏻💐