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36-year-old mother-of-four Sarah Valentine had been visiting her mom when she noticed that she’d lost a bit of weight. After her shower, she had a little celebration by dancing naked in her mother’s room – which is when the euphoria immediately vanished.
She’d spotted a strange dent on her breast, and although she didn’t get to the doctor until a couple days later, Valentine knew – she had breast cancer. “I knew already,” she said. “As soon as I saw the indentation and felt a lump I realized.”
After doctors completed tests and scans of her affect breast, they offered her either a full mastectomy or a lumpectomy and radiotherapy – but Valentine turned both options down.
She didn’t want to undergo invasive medical procedures and preferred, instead, to “overhaul” her diet by eliminating meat and dairy to improve her health.
“This is not a diet, it is life and death,” she explained. “I think by feeding my body good things, it will have an impact. I've done a lot of scientific research into it.”
Many of Valentine’s friends and family are concerned about her decision. She is the mother of four children, ranging from ages one to 15. They don’t want her to be “irresponsible” and not think about her children’s future health and care.
But Valentine reassures everyone that her children “are [her] priority and [she is] not irresponsible.”
She’s hoping that by readjusting her diet and lifestyle, she’ll be able to avoid further setting her health back by undergoing an intensive surgery, “I’ve heard about others having mastectomies and still not surviving.”
Valentine is now dedicating her time and effort to caring for her children, eating more healthily, and speaking out about breast cancer, “We should all be shaking, massaging, feeling our way around to spot any changes in our breasts as soon as possible.”
You can help her on her journey to recovery by donating here.
