How to Live a Good Life With Metastatic Breast Cancer

My Story

How I learned to grieve, plan, and prepare with strength, beauty, and humor.

Doctors can save a life, but they can’t calm a fearful mind.

Whether it was worrying about the side effects of cancer treatments, wondering whether the tumor might be growing, researching non-Western alternatives, understanding what it meant to have the BRCA-1 gene mutation, or trying to navigate the confusing world of insurance companies, staying positive and pragmatic was exhausting. I confided in current cancer patients and those in remission. I participated in support groups, took advantage of the social workers available at the cancer center, and found my own therapist. Along the way, I’ve used my knowledge, experiences, and photographs to help mentor newly diagnosed cancer patients.

I was first diagnosed with stage III breast cancer on July 31, 2014, at the age of 39.

Three years after that, I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, which appeared in the vertebrae of my neck.

Two years later, after complaining of headaches and dizziness, I went to the ER and was diagnosed with my third tumor. A brain CT scan and subsequent testing revealed stage IV metastatic breast cancer on the left side of my cerebellum.

Receiving every cancer diagnosis was shocking. Looking toward the future seemed a monumental task. I have endured the emotional and physical pain that comes with cancer. I have survived many surgeries: double mastectomy, lymph node dissection, hysterectomy, breast reconstruction, a corpectomy, and then a craniotomy. I’ve had a port-a-cath surgically placed for chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments.

I’m a Gen X’er from the suburbs of Chicago. I work as a union costumer in, Los Angeles, with a career in television comedies. I am an informed woman with strong opinions, and a wife in love with her wonderfully understanding husband. Looking at my scars could leave me feeling broken or flawed, but I don’t. There’s a new version of myself that I’m learning to love more each day. They remind me to be calm, to listen, to enjoy, and try to find the silver linings in the most unfair situations.

Traci Asher is a Gen Xer from Chicago, IL. After graduating from a Florida film school, she accepted a job at KLVX Las Vegas, NV, and finally settled in Los Angeles, CA, beginning her 20-year career as a union costumer in television comedies.

Cancer does not define me, but I cannot deny the impact it’s had on my adult life. I am more than a survivor, I am a thriver. As a thriver, I choose to look toward the future instead of clinging to the past. I use my experiences to learn and grow, and I will not be limited by brokenness.