My name is Jennifer Kaplan. I was diagnosed when I was 24. I found the lump myself and it was as big as an egg! They thought I had a cyst but I got an ultrasound then a mammogram and a needle biopsy. It was then that I found out I had breast cancer.

I went to Ann Arbor University of Michigan and had another needle biopsy and a chest x-ray. They called me and said it was in my lungs. I was diagnosed at stage 4. I was in shock but I had a lot of support from my family and the people at the hospital. I decided to do a clinical trial of chemotherapy called Taxotere. I had to do a breath test to see what kind of chemotherapy would be good for me. The first one I did got me really sick and I had to go to the hospital but my doctor said it was already shrinking my tumor.

I had chemotherapy eight times until it shrunk to as small as a penny! Then I got the lump removed and my ovaries removed because I was estrogen positive and gene positive. I got the gene from my Dad's side of the family—my Mom was negative. I also had radiation. I had a recurrence a year ago. I still have spots in my lungs but I am stable. The Femara hormonal therapy drug seems to work. I am single and not married, so it was hard, but I made it.