KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Just like how no two families are the same, not every person breast cancer touches has the same story. For one survivor, the diagnosis helped form her family.
Sarah and Gene Baquet have tons of pictures in their camera roll of big moments and adventures. While going through the gallery, they can't help but giggle at how much has changed since their story began in 2020.
In the present day, the pair parents five children: three from her side, and two from his. But what helped blend it in 2022 was actually a breast cancer diagnosis.
"You know, when you're 38 years old, which is how old I was when I got diagnosed, it wasn't really on my radar," Sarah said.
She felt a lump and had a mammogram. Her doctors biopsied it, and the official cancer call came just 10 days after her mammogram.
“You feel like it’s a fire and you want to get it out of your body as quick as possible, so I got diagnosed in mid-February, and by the end of February, I had my port placed and was starting chemo," Sarah said.
Just two weeks prior to her diagnosis, by chance, she and Gene had reconnected. The couple originally met on a dating website during the COVID-19 pandemic. They had a relationship for a year and a half, chose to break up, but decided to get back together months later.
Ten days after Sarah's diagnosis, Gene popped the question at Pretty Place, South Carolina.
“So we knew we had a pretty good thing," Sarah said. "We had a really good thing.”
Ten days after she said yes, she started treatments.
“I would walk the journey for her if I could, but I can’t," Gene said. "I can walk alongside her.”
The pair got married at the courthouse in downtown Knoxville on June 18, 2022. Their kids dressed up, they had a simple ceremony, and then they walked down the street to the French Market Creperie for breakfast.
"I guess the people in the shops and restaurants who were cheering for us that day were our wedding party," Gene said.
It wasn't too long before the new family of seven moved into one big house they would call their own.
"We crammed like a decade's worth of change into 18 months," Gene said.
All the while, Sarah was losing her hair, going through treatments, having surgery, and trying to be present as a mother and wife. She was also fighting an overwhelming diagnosis.
"It felt like a lot of chaos, it was a lot of scary things, but there was a lot of exciting things to kind of balance it out at the same time," Sarah said.
"It's a crash course for anybody, right," Gene said. "I was scared, so I was doing as much research as I can, and you know Googling everything I could."
But it was when Sarah received a packet of information from her nurse navigator at Thompson Cancer Center and she found a flyer for the nonprofit Breast Connect that everything seemed to click.
She visited breastconnect.org, found the resources and lists of questions to ask her doctor, and joined the Facebook group, which was filled completely with breast cancer fighters and survivors.
"It's been such a wonderful resource," Sarah said. "Any question you can think to ask, no matter how personal or if you think it's silly, I go to the search bar and type it in and you don't even have to ask because somebody has already asked it and somebody has already answered."
It's a chance to walk alongside women who understand what you're going through.
"There's some really strong, amazing women in that group and it's been an amazing resource," Sarah said.
The support stems beyond the search bar, though.
"It's different when you have people that are there to comfort and guide, and provide support," Gene said. "I mean, they have become like family in a way."
It's important to have that prong of understanding, but also to have family members who can help serve as caregivers.
Cancer doesn't just affect the patient. It permeates through the whole family. Gene and Sarah felt that firsthand. It was hard for their kids to watch happen, and there were certain things they had to navigate as a newly married couple.
"It's exhausting, but it also takes a toll on the caregivers, and so I think it's really important that we don't forget about the people who love and support those people who are going through treatment," Sarah said.
“You can’t pour from an empty bucket, but you feel selfish you know, knowing you have needs too," Gene said.
But side by side, these soulmates took each moment in stride, through treatment and recovery.
"She's a thriver, a survivor, and I would also say she's incredibly caring, and Sarah puts her heart into about everything she does," Gene said.
As a family of seven, there's plenty of heart in this home and a camera roll to go around. The family is looking forward to spending the future enjoying each other's company.
The pair also have great co-parenting relationships with their former spouses. There are days throughout the week when they have all the kids and days when they are just home by themselves, enjoying each other's company.
They both echoed that it takes a village to raise kids and also to battle a diagnosis like breast cancer.
Sarah loved Breast Connect so much, she even joined the board of directors for the nonprofit.
If you are a breast cancer fighter or survivor, you can visit breastconnect.org to learn more and join the Facebook group here.