Four weeks after her 33rd birthday, Crystal found a lump in her breast. When she told a good friend and co-worker — whose mother happened to be in treatment for metastatic breast cancer — the friend told her, “Don’t mess around.”

I was told the tumor was inoperable and I had two years to live if I received chemotherapy and radiation. Just two years.

My son, David, was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). My husband and I are both medical professionals, and cancer never entered our minds when David exhibited signs of fatigue, sore throat and listlessness.

Cat is a graduate student, a dog owner, an academic fraternity member and much more. Nothing can slow her down – not even a cancer diagnosis.

If spring is best greeted in a garden then I was fortunate to be in Buffalo in the spring, while my husband Roman was receiving his BMT at Roswell Park. We had arrived in mid-March (just as winter was ending) for Roman to be admitted. I was staying at the nearby Kevin Guesthouse.

A solid ten years of dreaming and planning finally came to fruition only to go up in flames thanks to a 30-minute doctor appointment on the Upper West Side. The culprit? Cancer.

Cancer treatment can vary widely, depending on the type, location, stage and many other factors. A side effect of some treatments is pain and discomfort for the patient.

In June, More than 50 local teen cancer survivors, patients and their guests enjoyed a night of dancing and fun at the fourth annual prom hosted by Carly’s Club, a social support program at Roswell Park.