When Kristen noticed her right nipple felt different, her first thought was "what the F is this?" Her second thought was that her life was about to change.

So she did what everyone does in this situation... she jumped out of the shower, went to Google, and diagnosed herself with a rare form of breast cancer called Paget’s Disease. But Google’s never right about these things, so a few days later when the radiologist suggested a biopsy for Paget’s, shit got real.

Overnight, life became a tightly-woven schedule of appointments wedged between work: a biopsy, an MRI, a colonoscopy, and a million different labs and scans leading up to the first chemo treatment.

As a single woman with limited resources, Kristen had no choice but to advocate for herself, quickly figuring out the magic words to use with her healthcare providers to move the process along faster and start treatment sooner.

In this episode recorded on her first day of chemo, Kristen tells us what’s happened so far, including why her mammogram didn’t catch the tumor, what made her cry and what made her throw up at the first chemo appointment, and how nearly taking her own life a year earlier prepared her to confront breast cancer with strength and courage instead of defeat.

From the awful moment in the shower through the last day of radiation and beyond — this is Kristen’s breast cancer story, told in real time.

**Links**

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Meet Kristen’s doctors: surgical oncologist [Dr. Louis Rivera](https://www.scripps.org/physicians/31924-louis-rivera?tab=overview),hematologist and oncologist [Dr. Sonia Ali,](https://www.scripps.org/physicians/8669-dr-sonia-ali?tab=overview) plastic surgeon [Dr. Salvatore Pacella](https://www.drpacella.com/), and radiation oncologists [Dr. Anuradha Koka](https://www.scripps.org/physicians/4516-anuradha-koka-md?tab=overview) and [Dr. Kenneth T. Shimizu.](https://www.scripps.org/physicians/5313-kenneth-shimizu)

The most wonderful restaurant there is, [Flower Child](https://www.iamaflowerchild.com/)

Contents of this video:
00:00 - I found my tumor in the shower
02:39 - I got regular mammograms and they didn't catch my tumor
09:03 - What are the differences between breast cancer stages?
10:28 - I only cried once at my first day of chemo
11:35 - Breast cancer won't be what gets me
20:31 - Why does the flushing during chemo taste like acetone?
27:30 - What's next in my breast cancer treatment journey?