ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – For Kimberly Stewart-Horan, it was her young daughter who came into her mind the moment she found out she had Stage 2 breast cancer in 2002.
“At that moment of my diagnosis, she was the first thing on my mind, and I was determined that I was going to fight it with everything within me because I didn’t want to leave that little girl without a mom,” Stewart-Horan said.
She said the news gave her flashbacks of when her mom lost the battle with breast cancer when she was only 11.
“The hardest part I think was just growing up without a mother. There’s just something about not having your mother as you’re growing up, especially for a little girl,” she explained.
Stewart-Horan is the Division Chief of Communications for Orange County Fire Rescue.
She was only 36 when she noticed a lump right as she was preparing for her grandmother’s 80th birthday party.
She wasted no time going to her doctors to see what was wrong.
“I went in to my doctor’s office and they did a few tests took some samples, like an aspiration, and then followed that up with going in for my mammogram which had already been scheduled and that is when they discovered signs that it was indeed cancer,” she said.
From there, Stewart-Horan had several procedures including chemotherapy and radiation and because of the aggressiveness of her cancer and treatments, doctors mentioned she likely wasn’t going to have a second child.
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Though, years later, she received what she calls a blessing.
“We were under the impression that the cancer had come back and after extensive testing, lots of doctors involved, we found out I was actually pregnant with my son, Gavin. Healthy baby boy, he’s now 17,” Stewart-Horan said.
While the battle might be over for Stewart-Horan, she spreads awareness by working with the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation and her message is clear, don’t give up the fight.
“We have to put a conscious effort every day on how we are going to face the challenges of the day and I choose hope ... every time,” Stewart-Horan said.
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