Thank you for considering a donation to this amazing organization. Here is what they stand for: TRUE NORTH TREKS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to support young adults and caregivers affected by cancer to "find direction through connection." One of the primary ways we do this is by taking groups on free backpacking and canoeing treks in beautiful and remote wilderness destinations where they can engage in three crucial connections that are often missing from conventional cancer care: 1) connection with nature (after going through something as unnatural as cancer treatment), 2) connection with peers who get it and have walked a similar path, and 3) connection with oneself through mindful awareness practices, such as meditation and yoga. 

I am so lucky that I get to go to the Upper Pennisula in Au Train, Michigan. I will bathe in nature at the TNT WALDEN Institute, hike along lake forest trails, fall asleep to the stars and the powerful airs of Gichigami, spot bald eagles and fox kits, and inhale the sweet scent of Northern pine. My trip is completely free to me. This wonderful group only asks that we pay it forward, and help pay for someone else to get to go after me. If you feel so led, please donate if you can. 

Here is my story...

On November 2019, at the age of 35, I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, or TNBC. It was a day I'll never forget. I had a feeling it was cancer, but still hearing those words over the phone hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't think it could happen to me. I was young, healthy, in good shape, and had no family history of breast cancer at a young age. 

And I was one of the "lucky" ones. I had a wonderful support system around me and was introduced to the plethora of resources that were available to cancer patients in Fort Worth. (Shoutout Cancer Care Services, Moncrief, and Texas Oncology!) I would also consider myself lucky because I caught my cancer when it was stage 1. I felt the lump myself randomly. My friends encouraged me to have it checked out and I am so glad my stubborn self actually listened. (Shoutout to my Fort Worth girls!)

The doctors visits were overwhelming. There is so much information thrown at you (and I absorbed almost none of it). I was to have 16 rounds of chemo (12 rounds of weekly taxol with carboplatin added every 3 weeks) followed by the "red devil" for 4 treatments every two weeks. Then I was to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction. What a whilrlwind.

I am thankful I get to take this trip, where I will be surrounded by nature and other 40+ survivors who were diagnosed as a young adult. I am using it as my celebration of FIVE YEARS CANCER FREE! 

Every day, I am grateful for my family and friends who walked beside me on this journey!