Three years is one of those weird points in time that feels so recent, yet so long ago all at once.

Three years ago today was March 11, 2021.

We were immersed in the pandemic for a full year, had acclimated to working from home as the “norm,” and a lot of things in my life were different. I had just gotten promoted to Sr. Editor with my old company. I was in the midst of house hunting with my boyfriend. I was actively planning to go on trips and enjoy my 27th year of life to the fullest.

But life had other plans for me.

On March 11, 2021, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, just two weeks after I turned 27 years old.

All of my big plans were put on hold as I underwent a grueling 13-month treatment plan consisting of:

• IVF (in-vitro fertilization) treatment and ooycte retrieval surgery – my boyfriend (now fiancé) and I froze embryos together in the instance I have fertility issues from undergoing chemotherapy at 27 years old (March 2021)
• 6 rounds of chemotherapy (TCHP regimen) every 3 weeks for 4 months (April, May, June, July 2021)
• Lumpectomy surgery to remove affected breast tissue surrounding the tumor location (August 2021)
• 33 rounds of radiation every business day for 6.5 weeks (September, October, November 2021)
• 11 additional (17 total, counting the ones with chemo) targeted therapy infusions because I had HER2+ BC (September 2021–April 2022)

And in the mix of all of that, I had various ailments related to the treatments I was receiving:

• Hair loss (that was the big one, of course) – head, eyebrows, lashes (not fully, but close)
• Nail loss (full loss of my big toe nails on both feet, and nails on my hands wouldn’t grow)
• Skin rashes all over my face and body
• Fatigue + weakness
• Inability to eat or taste food (and no, it’s not the same as losing your sense of taste from a cold or COVID)
• Sun sensitivity (due to skin and hair issues)
• Neutropenic fever (a severe decrease in white blood cells – though this explains neutropenia better than I can) that landed me a cool four-day-long stay in the hospital after my final chemo treatment

Those 13 months – especially the months when I was undergoing chemo – seemed to drag on when I was in the thick of it. Looking back now, it seems so long ago, yet also so recent. I know time has passed because my hair is growing back, my skin is clear, I’m able to taste food, and I’m able to do basic physical activities without feeling fatigued.

I’m in a different place in life than I was in 2021 and even early 2022 while I was finishing treatment.

• I started a new job in November 2021
• I bought a house with my boyfriend in April 2022
• My boyfriend became my fiancé in December 2022 (and we’re getting married this May!)
• I got a new tattoo in March 2023
• I learned to drive and got my driver’s license in August 2023
• I’ve traveled to so many new places since finishing treatment: San Francisco 3x, NYC, NOLA, STL, Charlotte, Vegas, Milwaukee, Mexico City, San Juan

March 11, 2021 was a hard day, and the treatment days that followed were even harder. But the days that came after have been nothing short of a blessing. There was a lot of loss, but I’m on the other side. I have regular check-ups with my oncology team, biannual scans, and have to be vigilant of my breast health forever onward, but overall I’m healthy, happy, and grateful for each new day I wake up to. Even on days where I’m tired and cranky and feel like shit – because feeling like shit from rough sleep is a walk in the park to feeling like shit from chemotherapy.

There will never be a point in time when I don’t speak about my experience in hopes I shed light on what it was like to go through these things at 27. It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t fun. And it also wasn’t that long ago.

Because while three years is a long time, it’s also no time at all.