MERIDIAN, Idaho — Amber Mausling is a wife, mom, a real estate agent and a breast cancer survivor. She is thrilled to add that last one to her life's resume. Because a year ago, her life changed in a huge and unexpected way.
"So, I was just living my life, and I found blood in my bra. I went to the doctor, and I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. I was 47 years old and I had not had a mammogram. When I got my mammogram, it was a crisis," Amber Mausling said. "On September 16 of last year, I started my first of 16 rounds of chemotherapy."
Mausling said one of the hardest parts of her cancer journey was saying goodbye to her hair.
"It's so emotional, especially as a woman. There is a lot attached to our hair, and I had beautiful long red hair. The initial shock of seeing myself without hair, was pretty profound," Mausling said.
Mausling had her family right there with her when she shaved her head.
"My husband was my pillar. He was just my champion through it all. I also had the privilege of having my mom and dad with me throughout treatment and the support of my kids. They were the light in my darkest days," Mausling said.
On March first of this year, she opted to have a double mastectomy to make sure the cancer would not spread.
"After my double mastectomy, I had a biopsy, and everything was deemed cancer free. I finished treatment on July 27, and I got to ring the bell," Mausling said. "It was a huge relief; it was a wake up time for me. This is the time to really embrace life, and I've been given the opportunity to do that. I had the great privilege of having health insurance and it was still very expensive for me to get treatment. I thought, wouldn't it be great to have an event to raise awareness and raise funds to fund 100 mammograms for underinsured and uninsured Idahoans?"
That is just what she did. She worked fast. The first Get Smashed at The Village event was held in February.
"During that event we raised 6-thousand dollars," Mausling said. "It was freezing cold outside. We had a ton of people show up, and we knew that what we had started was important, so we decided along with the Village to go ahead and do it again in October.
The second event is coming up this Tuesday, Oct. 3.
"We'll have live music, an open-air artisan market, we have on-site mammograms available and we'll have a huge raffle to raise money," Mausling said. "We'll also have the opportunity for people to donate on site, so that we can meet that goal of 20k to help fund those 100 mammograms this year."
Mausing said she knows she is still here for a reason. She wants to take the fear out of early screening and detection, to give women a fighting chance.
"I truly believe that I got cancer so I can have this platform, and be a voice for other women," Mausling said. "If we just help one woman get that early detection and put her fear aside, we can save a life and that's all that matters to me. Get Smashed at The Village is an event where we take the fear out of getting mammograms. This is an amazing opportunity, and I couldn't just let it sit still."
Her goal is to create a nonprofit and to continue her mission. If you want to support her cause, Get Smashed at The Village in Meridian is Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 4pm to 7pm.
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