It wasn't a lump that drove Terri Grady to get that first mammogram back in 2003; it was genetics.  "My mother had JUST been diagnosed and my grandmother had breast cancer previously.  I just had a fear that there might be something there...and they found something."

   It was tough for Terri to get a mammogram; she was only 38, and while she worked part-time for the Kalispel Tribe, she didn't qualify for their health insurance plan, and couldn't pay cash.  Finally, CHAS Clinic agreed to Terri's demands.

   While there was cancer in just one breast, Terri decided to have a double mastectomy.

   "I wanted to be preventative because I didn't want to have to worry about it in 10 years."

   Terri worked through chemotherapy and radiation; now employed full-time for the Kalispel Tribe licensing division.  In addition to being covered by their generous health insurance, Terri says her supervisors were remarkably accomodating during and after treatment.

   "They let me work as many hours of the day as I thought I could.  They let my boyfriend and I put our trailer there so I could sleep when I was tired...I have grown sons.  My youngest son and my boyfriend took primary care of me," Terri recalls.

   "My mom had passed away, but my dad went to every single chemotherapy appointment with me; my sister laid by my side.  I had wonderful caregivers.  "Finally..." she says, "I got my self back up."

   She spent the next few years offering support to other employees who had been diagnosed; always willing to give back the generosity she was shown.  "Sometimes I feel like the little birdy that's there saying come on we can do this.  We can do this, we'll get through it."

   And then, after a few years of feeling healthy, Terri started to feel abdominal pain.

   In spite of her clear margins after surgery seven years previously, and the fact that she'd opted for a bilateral mastectomy, Terri's breast cancer returned with a vengeance in 2010.

   "They told me I have metastatic breast cancer; that it's been degrading my bones."  She says.  "So it's terminal."  But the possibility of death is not stopping Terri from taking on life.

   "I have always been a get up and go person," she says.  "I don't just sit and let life pass me by.  I love to camp and ride 4-wheelers...and be with my family and friends."

   "I am a very unique sstory," Terri explains.  "My cancer should not have come back, we don't know why it did...but it has damaged by ribs, spine, my breast bone.  I have constant pain, so I've had a pain pump installed."

   Terri has gone through chemo and radiation again, takes medication to strengthen her lost bone density, and is working toward her Bachelor's degree in Social Work.

   "I want to be able to help patients to find resources.  Many organizaitons helped me find what I wanted."  Terri says personal attention she received from both the "Look Good, Feel Good" Program and The Essential Woman Boutique have inspired her to reach out to others.