Okay, first of all your 50th Birthday sounds both amazing and terrifying to me.

Secondly, thank you for your bravery. One of the most important tools we have is our stories. I truly believe that. It is so easy to feel isolated and alone — and never more so than when we are sick. The stories tell us we are not alone, but a part of something. Even if it’s a club we never wanted to belong to.

My mother participates in a longitudinal breast cancer sister study, along with her remaining sisters, and she (and I ) is at high risk to develop the disease .

And if that day comes for me, I will take comfort in knowing all of the women who have shared their experiences with me, and remained upbeat and positive in the face of terror and tragedy, because it means I don’t have to walk that road alone.

And that’s everything.

So thank you.