Sal Gregory

Meet, Sal – a young breast cancer warrior that is fighting cancer with so much strength and grace, that will have us all motivated and inspired to face our fears. …and she looks absolutely beautiful doing it. Many people would not even guess that she is cancer patient, however her journey all began on hot day in Texas in 2017. Salyndria Gregory, a former NJ native, went on a girls trip from Dallas where she now resides to San Antonio, and during her vacation discovered a small lump near her armpit. Alarmed but yet calm, she called her PCP for an appointment who initially told her she was too young for breast cancer, but then agreed to examine her which resulted in an immediate mammogram. A week later Sal was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma – Triple Negative Breast Cancer, which is a rare and very aggressive form of breast Cancer heavily diagnosed in woman under 40 and also African American women. Triple Negative Cancer is a Grade 3 cancer, meaning that it is a rapidly dividing cancer which is more difficult to treat than any of the other breast cancer, and treatment is limited to only surgery and chemotherapy, which weakens the immune system as it destroys rapidly dividing cells which can cause serious short term and long term side effects. When Sal received her diagnosis, she was completely devastated as there were not many triumphant stories as it relates to triple negative breast cancer. In addition, Sal lost her father to an aggressive Cancer when she was a teenager, which has always haunted her since she was a young girl. However, Sal decided that she had to fight for herself of course, but also for her dad, her mom, grandmother, but most important, for her 1 year old son who needed her more than anyone. If she wanted to take Cancer head on, then she needed to change her attitude from one of defeat to positivity, so she decided to remain herself, a gracious, lovable, and fashionable woman which can be seen through her photos. She also began to rely heavily on her faith to get her through such a dark time. “At one point in my journey after crying each and every day for hours, thinking that my life was over, I decided that if I want to survive, I cannot do so in the condition that I am in. I need to gather strength, and the only way to get that is from spending time with God”. says Sal. “So I began to read 101 healing scriptures where God said that I am already healed, and as I read them each day, they became embedded in my spirit, and I began to believe that I was indeed already healed.” From then on Sal had a new zest about her that was inspirational and appealing to everyone around her. She took to social media to share her journey, but did so in such a manner than ironically inspired and motivated others to learn to conquer challenges that they may be facing in their own lives. Her energy, fashion, zest for life and faith, even during chemo sessions, touched many of her family, friends, other chemo patients, and social media followers and broke many stereotypes of what a cancer patient is. Sal fought cancer, raised her son, went to the gym, worked a full time job, and still managed to keep a social life. “I told myself, okay Sal – this situation is extremely crappy, but it is out of my hands. I have given it over to God, so now my job is to still remain myself, to try my best to live a normal life as possible… and have fun while doing it!” She lived up to her word, as she can be seen dressed up, and having a good time even throughout chemo, leaving people in awe. Since being diagnosed with breast cancer, Sal has gone through multiple surgeries, one being a double mastectomy with reconstruction and has had 3 months of chemotherapy, losing 100% of what once was thick, long hair, which she vainly admits that she took the hardest. “When my hair began to fall out at work, it was so embarrassing, and two days later when I lost it all in clumps, I was completely devastated, but a couple of hours later I wiped my wet face, put on some jeans and heels, plopped on a wig and went to a rooftop to enjoy the rest of the day. My mom looked at me in complete shock, especially since she was holding me like a baby 2 hours prior. Although, serious, its funny when looking back. I knew then, that God had given me crazy strength that I did not have before.” Sal has recently finished her chemo treatments, and has one last surgery scheduled in March before she can start to find her new normal as a young survivor. When asked what advice she has for young women, she wants her peers under 40 to be their own health advocates. “If something does not seem right or you notice a change in your body no matter how small, push for further evaluation until you are satisfied. Breast cancer among young women seems to be the most ignored in preventative care because it is suppose to have a low occurrence rate, yet breast Cancer in young women is not as rare anymore, and it can and does happen. As a matter of fact, young women, when diagnosed have the lowest survival rates because the cancer is caught in later stages than other women. Early detection is the key to increasing survival rates. In addition, I also want people in general to know that attitude is everything not just with cancer, but with any obstacle in life. You can and will get through it. If you have to cry sometimes, by all means, cry as much as you need. Just continue to have faith, keep a positive attitude and never forget to smile and find joy through it all. We are all survivors in this thing called life.”