CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Morning coffee with your kid is a treat for most parents...especially if they are still living at home. But when your days are somewhat numbered, as is the case with Sarah Jackson who is currently battling non-active stage four metastatic breast cancer, it's another day making sure she and her daughter, Phenelope, create lasting memories- like their recent trip to Disney World with the entire family.
Jackson is a metavivor. The fight of her life began when she was 33. From a stage two breast cancer triple positive diagnosis and BRCA 2 carrier to a full mastectomy. After reconstructive surgery, the cancer spread to Jackson's right ovary leading to a preventative hysterectomy.
After that, the cancer once again reappeared in her left breast which led to even more chemotherapy and finally, she decided to leave her breasts alone and opt for an aesthetic flat closure.
She did not want to go through the pain of having her breast removed a third time. Today, Jackson survives thanks to a daily chemo pill and infusions every 3 weeks.
"As long as I'm responding to the medication and my medication is working...I'm alive" she said adding "I think a big misconception is...I mean, the biggest one I hear is: 'My grandmother died of breast cancer'. Or 'My aunt died of breast cancer'. Well, 98% of the time that's metastatic breast cancer because you do not die of breast cancer in your breast."
Jackson is one of the co-founders of the inaugural Light Up Metastatic Breast Cancer fun run earlier in October. She also educates anyone who will listen about the biggest concern she has: that any one of her five children have a 50% chance of carrying the BRCA 2 gene mutation.
"I want resources here. I want a cure. I don't want my kids to have to face what I'm going through."
Until that becomes a reality, this 40-year-old is busy recording her voice and videos for her kids should anything happen to her, something she was advised to do by the Inheritance of Hope foundation, who paid for her family and 40 plus other families just like hers to visit Disney.
She said "If I'm not around, I'm still going to be here because my legacy is going to continue. Our grandchild is going to watch these videos of me reading these books and hear my voice and hear my stories."
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