Although it sounds strange, I am beginning to believe that breast cancer possibly has saved my life. In October 2015, I was diagnosed with stage 2 lobular carcinoma of the breast. My cancer was found during my routine mammogram. I opted for a bi-lateral mastectomy and then had 33 radiation treatments in early 2016.  I saw my oncologist every month due to my treatment and she ran blood work every time.

My

Brianna had always been a healthy young girl. We initially noticed some rather minor things with her but did not know at first how serious they were. She had low-grade fevers that went away during the day, but came back in the evening morning and there was her first-ever nosebleed. She missed school for a few days, so we saw her doctor. There is also a clotting disorder that run in our family – so I also wanted her to be checked for this because she had reached age where this should happen.

I’m 31-years-old, and I was diagnosed with PNH in 2009 when I was 24.

I am generally athletic, and in college I was a wrestler. I knew what I could expect when training, competing, and recovering from competition. I transitioned from wresting to mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2008. Naturally, when I started that, I wanted to be sure that my training and recovery were the best they could be.

I was your typical 14 year old teenager who always enjoyed spending time with friends and playing sports. On and off for about two years, my parents would take me to see different doctors to figure out why I had aches and pains, stomach issues and fatigue.  

Diagnosed with

Steve Coffin considers himself lucky. Diagnosed with PNH in 2015, he is  grateful that he has responded well to eculizumab (Soliris®) treatment. “I’m incredibly fortunate,” he said. “It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

Steve, a 34-year-old avid runner, always lived an active lifestyle, but he had also sometimes experienced unexplained issues with fatigue over the years. In February, after a bout with the flu, he woke up at four in the morning with severe abdominal pains. “Within three or four breaths, I knew I had to get to the hospital,” he states.

When I was 13 years old, I was diagnosed with severe

I was just past my 19th birthday when my family and I realized that something was severely wrong with my health. Throughout high school I was always fatigued, and bruised very easily. I also experienced what I now know as