Breast Cancer Story Kristina Pasma: A Search for Breast Health Education
Disclaimer: Know Your Lemons deeply values and respects the experiences and stories shared by breast cancer patients. The advice, statements, or facts presented in these narratives may not necessarily align with medical expertise or be universally applicable to every individual’s situation. Breast cancer is a complex and highly individualized medical condition, and while these stories offer valuable insights and emotional support, they should not substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider for personalized guidance and decision-making regarding breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and management. Know Your Lemons encourages a collaborative approach between patients, caregivers, and medical professionals to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for those affected by breast cancer.
Kristina is a 46 year old registered nurse from Bloomington, IL and now lives in Fresno, CA. She enjoys gardening, reading, and watching her kids play baseball. She is most proud to have completed chemo on 7/13/2023 and a double mastectomy on 8/24/2023.
"I remember after my first chemo calling my mom and telling her, 'I can't do this for 15 more times,' but I did!!! I dug deep and found the strength within myself. I never would have chosen this journey but I feel blessed by it,"
Kristina said, as she recalled her experience. Kristina has always loved health and wellness. She said,
"prevention is the key to everything, but laughing is my favorite. Laughter and joy can cure so many things."
Kristina has agreed to share her story with us to help encourage people to take care of their breast health.
Here is her story:
“Hi, my name is Kristina. I'm a wife, a mom, a registered nurse, and also a breast cancer survivor. I came to share my story to provide you with a little bit of hope, some empowerment, and hopefully a whole lot of knowledge, because knowledge is power. I came across the Know Your Lemons Foundation as I was traveling through my breast cancer journey. I was looking for resources to share with my friends, my family, and my community in a way that was easy to understand. I was looking for a one-stop shop where they could go for everything that they needed. And I found it and more. I came across the visual of the lemons in the egg carton and said this is perfect. This is the first way I'm going to be able to share this knowledge, and as I was looking at the picture, I realized I was the lump lemon when I started my journey.
I downloaded the app, I started taking a look around, and realized I found my one-stop shop. Everything and more was there. There are videos on how to do your own self-exams. There are prompts to remind you on a monthly basis to do your self-exams and let's face it, we live in a busy world and so sometimes important things like this, we just tend to forget. We’re busy being wives, mothers, people working, friends, nieces, grandmas, all of those roles that we tend to play in our own lives. I love that it prompts you to be able to do that. There are great visuals on there, so if you live in a diverse community like I do, it makes it really easy to understand what's normal and what's abnormal. And if you were to find what's abnormal, there are resources there for you to be able to get the help that you need.
Did you know, on the app there's even a place that you can go where you can find free mammograms? I love it. I love that they have all of those things there. So I would encourage you, please share this. Share the app with your friends and family. Download it, utilize it. I've got it on my phone, and I can tell you that even though I'm still going through my journey, I'm going to utilize it to recognize should recurrence ever appear. And that is important as well. As I said, knowledge is power. Go on there. Take a look at the resources that they have. Share them with your friends and family and I think you will find something on there that you didn't know. Thank you so much for watching, and I wish you all the best.”
Please support more women being educated around the world in their own language, by donating to our breast health education programs: knowyourlemons.org/donate
