Looks can be deceiving. On the outside, I look healthy, but on the inside, I have cancer and sickness. I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma with Metastasis to the axillary lymph nodes, grade 3. On September 30th, I found an abnormal 3cm tumor in my right breast that popped out of nowhere and it felt like a cancerous tumor. As a Veterinarian, I have had a lot of experience feeling cancerous tumors. On October 4th, I had a mammogram and an ultrasound done. I was told by the radiologist that day, she was almost certain it was cancer and it looked aggressive! I was devastated by the news but I had to get to work right away and see patients. On my way to work, a 5 min drive, I called my family and cried. On October 9th, I had a 3 site biopsy done, including a lymph node biopsy. I had to wait for a week for results!!! It was pure torture. In the meantime, I was doing all this research on cancer and nutrition. I started taking cancer fighting supplements. Finally, on October 16th, I heard the news of my biopsy and received my diagnosis over the phone. That was the day that my life changed forever! Fear, sadness, hopelessness…. all of these emotions. I turned to God for strength and guidance. I decided to take action right away and called several hospitals in Chicago. On October 10th, I went to the Cancer Center of Zion. On Monday October 13th, I went to Rush; Wednesday, October 15th, I went to University of Chicago and Northwestern. During this time, I also had video consults with 2 clinics that do cyroblation for tumors. At the time, I was a possible candidate for cyroblation because my tumor was less than 3 cms in size. Every hospital I visited, I received the same treatment option: chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, and surgery. I did not want to go down that route and I knew there were other options. I started looking at clinics in other countries and doing a lot of research on alternative therapies that would give me the quality of life I wanted. I made an appointment with MD Anderson in Texas, the number 1 cancer center in the US for October 20th and the 21st. Prior to my visit with them, I was getting a CT scan, MRI, bone scan, ECHO at Rush on October 17th. The scans showed no cancer other than in my lymph nodes and breast. On Oct 20th, I had another mammogram and ultrasound repeated at MD Anderson. A biopsy was performed on a lymph node above my clavicle which fortunately came back negative. On October 21st, I met with a surgeon at MD Anderson. I was given the news that now my tumor is 3x the size and the cancer has spread to 8 axillary lymph nodes. I was also told that if I undergo surgery, I would most likely have complete paralysis of my arm. I also would have to go through chemotherapy, aggressive hormone therapy, and radiation. My quality of life would be really poor and I may not be able to work again as a Veterinarian doing what I do today. I would not be able to do a clinical trial unless I went through all these harsh treatments first. As my mother and I walked out of that appointment, we felt hopelessness and despair. We had to make our flight back to Chicago. While in the uber, I started making several calls to clinics outside of the US. I made appointments for virtual calls with several doctors from these clinics on Wednesday October 29th. Being the analytical doctor that I am, I research everything in great detail. I also networked with many women who have my cancer and the women who went to clinics outside of the US shared their success stories with me. On Wednesday night, I made my decision to go to Chipsa Hospital. I start my treatment on Monday November 1st. I will be staying there for 3 weeks. I am looking forward to sharing my journey and hopefully I can help other women out there. I will also be sharing my nutrition journey as well. I am going to fight this!