Congratulations Sarah & Jake on your beautiful baby, Bailey!

How do you break it to your boyfriend of 6 months that at 23 years old you have been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer? Isn’t breast cancer your grandmother’s disease? Or your mother’s disease for that matter?

For a young triathlete who had never smoked, ate well and lived well, breast cancer seemed like a very unlikely diagnosis.

Unfortunately the truth always hits hard. In July 2002 Sarah O’Regan (then Ray) was diagnosed with seven bilateral tumours in her breasts, two metastatic tumours in the liver, one on her seventh vertebrae, two more on her hips and 96 bone lesions on her ribcage. The doctors told her mother to get her affairs in order - she had a five per cent chance of survival at best.

Sarah has said that when you are forced to face your own mortality at the age of 23, a lot of things become crystal clear. You learn who your friends are - you begin to really understand what’s important in life.

For anyone who knows Sarah, they were not surprised to see her aggressive approach to treatment. She was not going to let this cancer beat her! So with the strength of an enlightened yoga master, Sarah took on her destiny. Breast cancer was not going to get in the way of her life plans!

During the following months, Sarah would embark on a journey that would baffle many, and impress all who came across her inspirational story. She fought with everything she had, and was prepared to leave this earth still fighting. She was going to be the Terry Fox of breast cancer.

Her initial treatment included two lumpectomies, radiation and two rounds of chemotherapy. The process was devastating on so many levels – physical and emotional. At 23 years of age, facing your mortality is not a natural life stage. While her peers were worrying about a difficult boss, bad dates and weight gain, Sarah couldn’t help but wonder; What if I do beat this? What if I do survive? Then what? Life will never be the same.

The outpouring of love from her friends and family was amazing, but what left the biggest impression was the flood of support from total strangers. On a daily basis Sarah’s bachelor apartment was filled with fresh flowers, homemade soup, angel statues and gifts galore.

During the dark hours she drew from this strength – the burning from the chemo, the loss of her hair, the nausea, the pain, the weakness. She realized that until you go through this you can never know what it’s like. And that pushed Sarah even harder – “I didn’t want anyone else to know what this was like”.

During Sarah’s treatments her friends launched the inaugural Booby Ball. It was a cheeky nod to the younger demographic who had been affected by Sarah’s battle. It was an opportunity for Sarah’s support network to do something – anything.

The event drew over 700 people, most of whom had know Sarah at various stages throughout her life.$10,000 was raised for the cause and Sarah’s spirits were renewed! She began to understand how important her fight had become to all of these people. By forcing herself to get up and walk every day, to go out, to live life, she had let everyone know that she was going to be okay, no matter what. Not even when she found out that the treatments hadn’t worked. Not when she was taking chemo pills four times a day, chemo drips four times a week and radiation on top of that. Cancer was not stronger than she was!

Sarah went into remission on her 24th birthday, December 12, 2002. 3 months later she was diagnosed with Leukemia as a result of the large amount of radiation she had been treated with.

In July of 2003 Sarah had again graduated from cancerland. Around this time she met her match - Jake O’Regan – her soul mate. When Sarah’s doctor reported that the cancer had come back and spread that December, Jake was her rock. When the cancer spread to her brain and her bones, Jake was by her side. Every morning he dropped her at Princess Margaret Hospital for her treatments. Every night he would pick her up with a bag of Kernels popcorn (this was the only thing she could keep down). When it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, the treatments began to work and the brain surgery was successful. In August 2003 Sarah celebrated her remission again.

Jake proposed in September and the couple wed in November 2004. This year, the O’Regans are expecting their miracle baby.

If there is one thing to learn from Sarah, it is that you may be forced to deal with the hand that life deals you, but if you play your cards right, you can still win the game.

This year’s Booby Ball will be held on October 28th – come out to show your support Sarah and others like her.