Kate Crawford, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was 28 with three small children when she first began feeling something was wrong.
Doctors initially dismissed her severe back pain as a common nerve issue — understandable, they said, for a young mom juggling the demands of three small children.
Kate herself assumed the exhaustion and aches were simply part of motherhood.
But the symptoms kept piling up. Alongside the back pain, she developed a persistent cough, stomach issues, and strange bruises that refused to fade.
Still, she chalked it up to fatigue and a lingering cold.
By the time doctors took a closer look, it was too late. The cancer, quietly growing in her breast for years, had already spread.
Tests revealed it had reached both breasts, her spine, liver, and pelvis.
That’s when doctors delivered the devastating news no young mother expects: she had just 18 to 24 months to live.
That was 12 years ago, and against all odds, Kate, now 41, has survived stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and is on a mission to check things off her bucket list and make lasting memories with her husband and children.
She said she knows she will never be cured of cancer, but is ‘thankful’ to still be alive.
Kate is also determined to educate others on the lesser-known signs of cancer and teach them to advocate for themselves.
Looking back, she realizes how her seemingly unrelated symptoms were all subtle signs of cancer.
Kate used to blamed her upset stomach on a bad diet and when the cough she had wouldn’t go away after several months, she thought she ‘was having trouble shaking a cold.’
‘But these were all signs of cancer. I had no clue,’ she said.
Kate continued: ‘I just thought I was tired because I was a new mom.
‘But it wasn’t just exhaustion — I was bone-tired, with belly issues, a cough that lingered for months, and bruises that never went away.’
She added: ‘If the doctor had just done an x-ray, he would’ve seen I had cancer. One day, I was a 28-year-old mom of babies, and the next, I was being told I might not be here much longer.
‘I didn’t know what to look for. If I had been more educated in the signs, I might have been able to better advocate for myself.
‘It may be too late for me, but it’s not for you. If something doesn’t feel right, please don’t ignore it.’
Kate said: ‘I didn’t know the signs. That’s what I want people to take away from this. Know your body. Don’t ignore your gut. It might just save your life.’
After her diagnosis of breast cancer, which affects about 317,000 women annually, she immediately started aggressive treatment.
She has had more than 200 treatments, including a double mastectomy, and has spent nearly a third of her life in a relentless battle for survival.
While treatable, metastatic breast cancer cannot be cured and about 42,000 women die of the disease each year.
The five-year survival rate for stage 4 breast cancer is 22 percent and Kate said less than 13 percent of metastatic breast cancer patients survive as long as she has with the disease.
At times her treatment has been far from straightforward. She has had allergic reactions, heart failure and even developed early-stage lung disease.
But she has kept fighting, adapting her life around the three week treatment cycle and her changing body.
She said: ‘A stage 4 diagnosis means treatment for life and side effects for life. When one thing pops up, you just have to deal with it. Take it one step at a time.
‘That time lets me relax and unwind. It reminds me to look for the glimmers.’
Kate credits her strength to survive to her husband Steve and their children, twins Grace and Lily, now 16, and Stephen, 15, who are constantly at her side.
And she concentrates on small joys – from floating in a lake on a calm day, laughing with her kids, or discovering a new outfit that fits just right.
Kate said: ‘I just want to keep making memories with my family. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.
And while she enjoys sharing her journey on social media, she warns against toxic positivity.
‘I’ve never tried to sugarcoat my life, but people forget the daily struggles. We hide a lot, not for ourselves but to make others feel better.
‘It’s ok to feel not ok. You don’t always have to be the brave, stoic cancer patient. You can be mad, bitter, sad and still be full of love. That is perfectly ok.
Kate continued: ‘Getting diagnosed with cancer is like jumping into a big metaphorical lake full of other cancer patients. We’re all in there together, but we can’t help each other. We carefully tread water, but we get tired. Sometimes we barely hang on.
‘People cheer from the shore. Some get rescued. Others stay. Some never make it out.’