A beautiful bride....a handsome groom....ready to celebrate the rest of their lives together.....then a diagnosis that changes everything.
"Shock. You never think it's gonna be you. You always think one in 8, but one of those other 8 people. You don't think it's gonna be you."
Six months after Angela Lewis was married....she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I was watching TV in bed with my husband I was just like wow what is that and I felt just by doing that I was like wow this is crazy."
Crazy because Lewis was only 31 at the time. She was 9 years shy of her first mammogram....recommended yearly after you turn 40.
"The chance of getting breast cancer under the age of 35 is about 0.5% less than 1% so that's why we don't screen women younger than the age of 40."
Dr. Dalliah Black is a breast surgical oncologist at the Hoffberger Breast Center at Mercy Medical Center.
Angela is one of Dr. Black's patients. She says unfortunately younger women often face more challenges.
"It usually presents at a larger size, a higher grade, a higher stage. Those cancers more often have gene mutations.....Those cancers are more likely to come back after a patient is treated with a lumpectomy and radiation compared to older women with breast cancer."
However younger women like Angela often opt for a lumpectomy because they are still planning their futures. She and her husband Trey don't have children of their own yet....but one day hope to.
"There are some special concerns in younger women. This is often their first time being sick. Most younger women are healthy, and they've never had to have a diagnosis of anything. They've never needed a surgery or invasive treatment so it can be an overwhelming process and diagnosis to receive."
It's been nearly a year since Angela's diagnosis....but her cancer is never far from her thoughts.
"Every ache. Every pain, you feel, is it back? I'm always like reading like how it comes back. I'm going to the doctor two times a week just to make sure."
Her message to other young women....do your self breast exams....and if you have concerns press your doctor for a mammogram.
