After I received my breast cancer diagnosis, I chose to keep it to myself and not tell a lot of people. This wasn't my original plan, but after sharing this news with some people that I wasn't close to, I decided this was for the best. Their comments were like condolences, as if I were dying tomorrow.

It was too much to bear at the time, and I shut down completely after that. I chose not to tell others that I had breast cancer...