KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Life is good for Amy Michelle Asher despite a diagnosis four years ago of stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Her friends call her Shel, and they've been there to support her through tough times.
"I've been on, in four and a half years, I believe, it's 13 different chemo therapies and immunotherapies," Asher said.
When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she had a genetic test and doctors told her she was positive for the BRCA1 gene, which puts her at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She had a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy, doing everything she could to avoid the possibility of developing breast cancer again. But it didn't work. Eighteen months later, the cancer had spread to her bones.
"My husband (Arian) and I made the decision together that I would focus on what I want to do and my bucket list and my daughter," Asher said.
So she wrote her bucket list and started her exciting adventures — like chasing gray whales.
"I started on the Oregon coast seeing them (gray whales) when they were migrating," Asher said. "Then I went to Baja when they were having babies in the winter. I also rafted in the Grand Canyon, which that was a hard trip. The water was 40 degrees and the air was 102 degrees."
Shel and her husband took their 11-year-old daughter, Eliza, with them on the adventures whenever possible.
"I want to show her strength ... that you can do what you want in life even if there are obstacles," Shel said.
Her advice to other people facing medical challenges is to make a bucket list.
"Write down the things that are important to you and make a list," she said, "and if you can check things off of that list, I think it makes you feel a lot better about yourself and your situation.
"Live day to day. Stop focusing on when is this going to be over because it might not be over, so don't wait. Don't just sit and wait for it to be over."
Shel's cancer metastasized to her liver. In August, doctors told her there was nothing more they could do for her, but last week that changed.
There's a new drug for a new immunotherapy treatment, and Shel qualifies for the clinical trial. She'll start taking the treatment in about two weeks.
For more information about metastatic breast cancer, visit the Susan G. Komen website or the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network's site.
