When you receive a cancer diagnosis, you quickly learn just how precious life is.

Almost seven years ago, I learned I had stage IIIC, HER2-positive breast cancer. My very first mammogram revealed a large tumor in my right breast, just five days before my 41st birthday.

Because my mother died of lung cancer at age 48, my husband and I felt like time was of the essence. We immediately packed up and headed to MD Anderson&nbsp...