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    Dealing with the Diagnosis

    Too young for breast cancer? Two women under 33 looked at illness as opportunityto change their lives

    Heather Staible
    Jun 8, 2011 | 6:00 am
    • Alisha Harrell has a new attitude after battling and beating breast cancer.
      Alisha Harrell
    • Parenting through cancer wasn't easy, but Alisha Harrell and daughter Kennedymade it through the difficult times.
      Alisha Harrell
    • Todd and Michelle Amos, dressed in pink, of course.
      Heather Staible
    • Michelle Amos posed for the book "The Faces Behind Breast Cancer" by J. Sethiduring radiation treatment.
      Michelle Amos
    • Michelle Amos and her superhero friends at a Young Survivors Coalition "InLiving Pink" gala.
      Michelle Amos
    • A cake from a Young Survivors Coalition In Living Pink gala.
      Michelle Amos
    • Alisha Harrell and her best friend
      Alisha Harrell
    • A Harrell family portrait
      Alisha Harrell

    Alisha Harrell’s life was in fast-forward. Married to a husband who traveled extensively, with two small kids and a thriving interior design business, she was go, go, go all the time. Her days slipped into nights and she fortified herself with four hours of sleep and ridiculous amounts of coffee.

    She had no intention of slowing down, but her body had other plans, stopping her short when she learned she had breast cancer.

    Devastating news for any woman, but it caught Harrell completely off-guard for one major reason. She was only 30, way too young to have the disease.

    Right?

    Sadly, no. The sobering fact is that each year almost 70,000 men and women between the ages of 15 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer (breast cancer accounts for about 15 percent of all diagnosed cancers). Even more alarming is the news that women 15 to 34 die more frequently from breast cancers than any other. In 2009, the American Cancer Society predicted that of the 190,000 new cases of breast cancer, roughly 18,600 were in women younger than 45.

    Despite the statistics, Harrell never saw herself as a number. But her life came into focus fast, starting with her ob’s insistence she get a mammogram that very afternoon. From the mammogram, she had an ultrasound and then before she knew it, was referred to an oncologist. Harrell knew it wasn’t good news.

    “The oncologist was crying and said you’re so young to have cancer,” she recalls.

    The treatment whirlwind took flight almost immediately. Harrell had a port implanted for her chemotherapy treatments, which went on every weekday for six months in late 2009 and early 2010. Through it all, she carried on with her regular life as much as she could. Her design team came to the hospital and together they would work on client projects. Harrell even met with clients while she was taking chemo.

    But those days weren’t all work. Some of the most meaningful moments came when friends would sit and watch a movie with her or simply just be with her, doing nothing at all.

    Friends played a vital role during Harrell’s treatment and recovery. As a mother of two small children, she still had responsibilities that oftentimes only a mother can fulfill. But her friends came through with day-to-day tasks like cooking for the family, laundry and even more basic support.

    She describes the entire experience as “her body being on reset.” The same applied to her life. The breast cancer diagnosis forced her to re-evaluate everything, starting with just how she developed cancer in the first place.

    Harrell was already in a high-risk group, since African-American women under 35 have rates of breast cancer two times higher than Caucasian women the same age. Research shows young, African American women are more likely to get aggressive forms of breast cancer than any other group. After talking with her mother, Harrell learned not only was there a history of breast cancer, but also ovarian cancer in her family.

    A laundry list of decisions

    For Michelle Amos, another young breast cancer survivor, there wasn’t a single piece of the genetic puzzle connecting her diagnosis with family history. Amos’s doctor was initially nonplussed by a lump she discovered during a routine well woman exam in 2004, saying Amos was too young for it to be anything serious.

    Since the doctor didn’t consider the lump serious, the 33-year-old Amos waited three weeks before getting it checked. Much like Harrell though, once she had a mammogram, the wheels started spinning at warp speed. A mammogram led to an ultrasound, which turned into a visit to a radiologist and then a biopsy. All of this happened on a Friday, which meant she and her family were forced to just wait.

    “It was the longest weekend ever,” Amos said.

    The diagnosis of breast cancer came with a laundry list of decisions for Amos and Todd, her husband, who were living in Tulsa at the time. Originally from Houston, Michelle was interviewing for jobs in her hometown and the couple decided treatment at MD Anderson was the best choice. They moved in with her parents and held their breath while she attempted to start treatment at quickly.

    The plan was six months of chemo to shrink the tumor, which went according to plan, until the doctors discovered that the tumor had indeed become smaller, but it had shattered in the process. She was faced with more decisions. She chose another round of chemo, followed by a mastectomy and more radiation.

    Perplexed by the origin of her diagnosis, Amos embarked on an ambitious genealogy project, tracing her history on both parent’s side of the family.

    “I saw a genetic counselor and found I was the first in my family to have cancer. There was a case of colon cancer on my mom’s side, but that was all. It was very eye-opening for my family,” Amos said. She sent the information to her entire family, encouraging them to keep it updated and use it as the need arose.

    It’s almost unbelievable how positive both women are about the breast cancer diagnosis considering all they endured. Harrell took the experience and did a major overhaul of her life.

    “You know Miranda from Sex and the City? That was so me. I was focused on work and missed opportunities to take vacations and slow down,” Harrell said.

    Lifestyle changes

    Before her diagnosis, Harrell noticed her stamina at the gym was decreasing, but she chalked it up to her over-stressed lifestyle. She and her family ate a lot of red meat and had very little down time together. Now, the menu at the Harrell home is heavy with fish, chicken, turkey and green vegetables.

    She has also eradicated her home of as many chemicals as possible and instead embraces nature-based products from Melaleuca Wellness for everything from toothpaste to household cleansers. She schedules workouts for herself and doesn’t let work infringe on time with her family. She also put her interior design skills to work, painting her house to look and feel like a spa and her bedroom to be a restful retreat.

    “I chose to be happy. I knew God was using this situation for good, so I was stepping out in faith. It’s a day-to-day walk,” Harrell said. She relied on the fellowship of support from Lakewood Church and Healing Night, where people would pray for her recovery and health.

    “I never asked why me? Why did this happen?” Amos said. “I had a great support system-my mom, dad, sister and husband and it allows me to be more compassionate.” Amos is unflinchingly honest about her breast cancer experience. Before her diagnosis, she was completely healthy, leading a full and happy life.

    “For a young person who is normally healthy and going strong, it forces you to relinquish things. It can be a positive thing,” Amos said.

    To cope with the situation, she also joined a support group, which was a good idea, just not a great fit for her. Most of the people in her group were much older, had grandkids and not many of them had breast cancer. At her husband’s encouragement, she began looking for other outlets and when Todd came across the Young Survivors Coalition online, she was a self-admitted lurker, not quite ready to become vulnerable again.

    “I was working fulltime, spending time with family and friends, we bought a house, but something was missing. I needed to find my own kind, my age. Breast cancer is mental and emotional,” Amos said.

    Her quest led to what she thought would be a small role with the YSC, but before Amos knew it, she was put in charge of the In Living Pink silent auction for the organization’s gala. It was a perfect fit. The grass-roots group is all about support, but it values fun, an element of life that easily gets lost in the midst of treatment.

    “You had a life before this and some people don’t get a lot out of sitting around baring your soul to strangers. We have fun.”

    Many of the women in YSC are in relationships and have children, so events like beach days benefit the entire family and, Amos said, gives husbands and boyfriends a chance to be around other men going through a similar situation. Amos and another volunteer man the phones for newly diagnosed women looking for answers and support.

    Both women encourage friends and family to stay connected even after the chemo is done and the hair starts to grow back. “Be there for them. Just because I was feeling better didn’t mean I didn’t still want them around. I needed people to be around me to feel normal,” Harrell said. “People start to back off when you are doing well,” Amos said.

    As young survivors, Harrell and Amos get maximum joy out of life, reflecting on their past, without letting it determine their future. The women are cancer-free, but continue to be vigilant with their health. Open with their stories, they suport others going through what they did and remember lessons learned from the diagnosis.

    “Breast cancer is just one element of who you are, but it doesn’t define you,” Amos said.

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    eyes on the road

    5 Houston highways rank among deadliest roads in America, per report

    Amber Heckler
    Jun 12, 2025 | 9:30 am
    I-45 Houston downtown
    Photo courtesy of TXDOT
    I-45 is in the hotseat again.

    Heads up to Houstonians commuting on the city's freeways: Five busy Harris County highways were just deemed among the deadliest roads in the country, with I-45 in Houston ranking as the deadliest road in Texas. That's according to a new study based on the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data.

    The study, commissioned by Santa Ana, California-based company Future Bail Bonds, compared fatal crash data across 96,000 U.S. roads from 2019-2023. The top 150 "deadliest" roads were ranked by the total number of fatal crashes that occurred during the five-year period.

    The No. 1 deadliest road in America is I-15 in San Bernardino County, California, the study found. The interstate, which runs from Southern California to Las Vegas, experienced the highest rate of deadly car crashes from 2019-2023 with 196 crashes.

    For comparison, I-45 in Houston had 88 fatal vehicle wrecks during the same time period to rank as the 16th deadliest U.S. road and No. 1 deadliest in Texas. Considering that tens of thousands of people drive the road every day, a fatal crash is relatively unlikely, but the data underscores the need for drivers to remain aware of their surroundings at all times.

    The crowded highway stretches from Dallas to Galveston, and the I-45 North Freeway earned its own spot on the list as the 124th deadliest U.S. road. I-45N experienced 44 deadly crashes between 2019 and 2023, the report said. I-45's controversial expansion project between downtown Houston and the north Sam Houston Tollway (and portions of connecting freeways) also earned it a new reputation as a "freeway without a future" by the activist group Congress for the New Urbanism.

    Elsewhere in Harris County, I-10 ranked as the 22nd deadliest U.S. highway on the list with 76 fatal crashes during the five-year span. It was dubbed the third most fatal Texas highway, with I-35 in Austin splitting up the two Houston roads as the second deadliest statewide.

    "From 2019 to 2023, motor vehicle crashes claimed 186,284 lives across 96,257 roads in the United States, underscoring the persistent danger on American roadways," the report said.

    Two more Houston highways ranked much farther down the report, but still remained among the top 150 deadliest U.S. roads: FM 1960 ranked 114th on the list with 45 fatal crashes, and I-610 ranked No. 131 with 43 fatal crashes.

    Nine other Texas roads that were deemed the deadliest in America with the highest rates of fatal vehicle crashes from 2019-2023 include:

    • No. 23 – I-30 in Dallas County (76 crashes)
    • No. 27 – I-410 in Bexar County (73 crashes)
    • No. 32 – I-10 in El Paso County (69 crashes)
    • No. 63 – I-20 in Tarrant County (56 crashes)
    • No. 66 – I-820 in Tarrant County (55 crashes)
    • No. 115 – SR-12 in Dallas County (45 crashes)
    • No. 130 – I-35 in Bexar County (43 crashes)
    • No. 132 – I-635 in Dallas County (43 crashes)
    • No. 141 – I-10 in Jefferson County (42 crashes)
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