This College Student Was Diagnosed with Breast Cancer 2 Months Before Graduation

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Photo: Instagram

While planning a post-graduation trip with college friends, Loyola University Chicago senior Anna Wassman was totally focused on saving for her trip — until she noticed a lump in her right breast that she had definitely not felt before.

A former professional ballerina who's "very in tune with her body," Wassman immediately called her doctor, who told her to wait a few days to see if it would go away. She waited, but says she "knew this wasn't good."

When the lump was still around two days later, Wassman got an ultrasound, which then necessitated a biopsy. Despite the reassurances from family, friends and medical professionals that she was too young for the lump to be anything serious, she anxiously called her doctor's office every day.

Almost a week after her biopsy, on March 1, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, Stage IIa HER2-positive. "This can happen to anyone at any age," Wassman tells People. (Related: Inspirational Stories from 8 Breast Cancer Survivors)

October is officially Breast Cancer Awareness month, meaning everything is going to turn pink. ?? Into the pink or not, what can you do to be aware and support? ?????♀? 1. #feelitonthefirst - I was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 1st. Check yourself every month ladies (and gentlemen)! You will become aware of your normal and it can help with early detection. 2. Don’t be fooled by the #pinkwashing that brands do. While I am glad awareness is being raised, please do your research before donating. Just because they slap a pink ribbon on products does not mean they are donating or helping further cancer research. 3. Support groups like the @americancancersociety - I will be walking on Oct 20th with @miirandaarae and others in making strides against breast cancer at Solider Field. If you want to join us or donate, I have also shared the link to our Rack Pack in my bio! https://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=2372159&fr_id=89520&pg=team 4. If you have friends or family going through this, support them year round. Breast Cancer awareness month is great for bringing this topic to the front of everyone’s mind, but the truth is having cancer is something you have to deal with every single day for the rest of your life. ?? To everyone who has been supporting me 365 days a year, THANK YOU! I couldn’t keep going without you by my side. If you have any questions about breast cancer or anything related feel free to DM me ?? #breastcancerawarenessmonth #breastcancer #youngbreastcancer #courageforthesoul

A post shared by Anna Wassman (@annamazingjourney) on Oct 1, 2018 at 9:10am PDT

So what goes through the mind of a 25-year-old who's at the top of her class, working full-time, already has a job offer — and now has to fight a life-threatening illness?

"I definitely started crying … and I immediately went into planning mode," the marketing major recalls. "I knew it was something I had to address, and I couldn't avoid it anymore. Now that I knew what was going on, it was like, 'How can we fix this?' "

The diagnosis came at the beginning of her spring break, so Wassman packed the following class-free week with doctors appointments, MRIs, CT scans and mammograms. She also asked questions about what she could change in her diet, her physical activity level and any other lifestyle factors that could improve her prognosis. (Related: Women Are Turning to Exercise to Help Them Reclaim Their Bodies After Cancer)

Because she wasn't going to give up on her goal: "I just wanted to walk across the stage and graduate [in May]," Wassman shares.

The determined college student met with her professors — one of whom was a breast cancer survivor herself — to explain her situation and prove her dedication to completing her coursework on schedule.

"I wanted to be completely transparent with my professors to let them know that I wasn't just blowing off class to do something fun or take a job interview," Wassman says. (Related: Running Helped Me Accept That I Had Breast Cancer)

She ended up graduating summa cum laude with the top GPA in her program.

"I don't know how it's worked, but everyone's been there in how I needed them. I'm so grateful," she muses. Her parents flew from California to be with her for weeks at a time. She never attended chemo alone thanks to her live-in boyfriend and friends. And she built an entirely new support network of at least a dozen breast cancer survivors around her own age. (Related: This 24-Year-Old Found a Breast Cancer Lump While Getting Ready for a Night Out)

After having a bilateral mastectomy — "I didn't have to, but I wanted no chance of reoccurrence," Wassman states — she had four and a half months of chemo, which finished the second week in September, and will continue her targeted therapy of prescription drugs for a few more weeks. She also has one more surgery around the corner to get breast implants.

The future for Wassman includes working with Imerman's Angels, a nonprofit that provides one-on-one support for cancer patients. She also earned a two-year internship with tech company BOSCH, six months of which will be spent living abroad in Germany, starting in early November.

In the meantime, Wassman continues to appreciate the strength of her body every single day. (Related: Ohio Mom, 27, Diagnosed with Breast Cancer Months After Giving Birth Speaks Out: 'Be Proactive')

"There have been days where I've been like, 'I don't want to go to treatment, I don't want to do this anymore,' but you have to," she says. "But I'm glad that I pushed through and didn't give up and kept fighting."

This story originally appeared on People.com by Maura Hohman.

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