CREVE COEUR, Mo. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Alissa Schulte, a breast cancer survivor, is a strong advocate of getting knowledge out to people.
“I was diagnosed at 17. I was graduating high school. My friends were all getting ready to go to college. My parents were devastated,” she told 5 On Your Side.
Schulte was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. It is a rare form of the disease that isn’t easy to defeat, and treatments took a toll on her.
“I lost all my hair and I was very sick,” she said.
Schulte’s age at the time made it hard to relate to other patients.
“It was lonely place. They would get me involved with young women’s breast cancer groups, but the young women were old enough to be my mother,” she explained.
But with the support of family, friends and her inner strength, she got through.
“I learned that I’m stronger than I thought I was,” she said.
Although doctors warned her about the possibility of the cancer reoccurring, Schulte has been in remission since 2010.
“When I as diagnosed, they pretty much told me the kind of cancer that I had could comeback within five years. Probably wasn’t until maybe like 8 or 10 years later did I think, OK maybe I’m out of the woods here,” she said.
But her visits to the doctors can still be stressful.
“It gets a little emotional,” she said.
These days Schulte is helping other cancer patients through their emotions of cancer journeys. She started a 501c3 nonprofit called “Alissa’s Hope.” She has been able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.
“Turned something that was not great in my life and do something positive,” she said.
Schulte’s cancer fight taught her to appreciate the positive moments in her personal life.
“Figure out what’s important to you and what’s not anymore because priorities absolutely change,” she said.
One of her priorities is to enjoy more time with her young daughter.
“We find a thing. We speak it into the universe and then I find a way to make it happen,” she explained.
The two have gone to 26 concerts together and went on an adventurous road trip over the summer.
“She saw a potato house. A potation hotel. And we stayed in a potato with a bathroom that was in a silo that was 50 feet away in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “It’s the stuff we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives.”
She feels blessed to be able to share their days together.
“I have so much fun with this kid. I thank God for that every day that she’s here. She is my little miracle,” she said.
Schulte certainly knows what a miracle is.
If you would like to learn more about Alissa’s Hope, click here.