Qiuyin’s cancer story starts with her mother – she was diagnosed with breast cancer when Qiuyin was just 13 years old. Ever since then, it has been a constant in her life. Years later her aunt received her breast cancer diagnosis and her mother tested positive for the BRCA1 gene. When she started medical school, Qiuyin got tested and was also positive for the gene. She started her screenings at age 25, around the same time her cousin was diagnosed with DCIS. Finally, at the age of 29, she was in the right stage of her training to schedule her prophylactic mastectomy. To everyone’s surprise, they found breast cancer. Now, instead of graduating medical school and moving forward in her goal to become an oncologist, she is taking time off to do her own treatment. Qiuyin is a huge hockey fan, especially of the Washington Capitals. Her wish was to see the team, and their historic captain, Alex Ovechkin, in person. The FAB-U-WISH team was honored to arrange for Qiuyin and a guest to attend the Capitals game in Chicago earlier this season.
“When I first learned that my wish would be granted, I was very excited and a little in disbelief. I had this game in mind since before my diagnosis – this is likely the last year that our team captain will play in the NHL and I knew I wanted to see him play in person one last time. However, they only play in Chicago once a year, so I only had one chance to see them. Since starting chemotherapy, I felt like going to this game was pretty unlikely. I have been increasingly fatigued these last couple of cycles and have been leaving my apartment less and less. However, when I learned of the support I had, I had some extra energy and pushed myself out the door! It was an incredible time. My team won (sorry to the home team), our captain scored a goal, and I got to enjoy really nice seats I otherwise would not have been able to! I only have one more chemotherapy left, and this experience has given me some extra motivation and joy to make it to the end. I cannot wait to be done, but I will always carry this experience as a bright spot in my journey. Thank you all for your support!”