Hi, my name is Ashley and I have been Lauren’s best friend since 7th grade.

I know I'm not alone in continuing to think about how I can best support Lauren and her family in her journey to fight breast cancer. She has supported me, her family, her friends, her clients, and so many people in this world on their own journeys, and it is time for us to rally together and support Lauren in return!

For those who have not heard the news, Lauren, a 38-year-old mom to the most loving, sweet, funny, four children, ages 11-2, was recently diagnosed with "invasive ductal carcinoma” as well as extensive “Ductal Carcinoma In Situ”. On 11/1/23 she underwent her first surgery which was a double mastectomy.

She now has serious decisions to make about which types of treatment to undergo as many of these treatments carry the warning of life changing side effects.

Lauren owns, as well as works full time in, two CrossFit gyms in Ocean County. Her mission has always been not only to keep others healthy, but to teach them ways to care for their body. This has always meant so much to Lauren and she fought to stay in business through COVID when it was never more obvious how much the community needed to focus on health and movement.

Lauren was blindsided by this diagnosis just 3 days after her 38th birthday (scroll down to read her story), and it has taken her some time to settle into this new reality, which has strengthened her faith in God.

She has channeled all of her energy into prayer, pouring over research papers, going over studies, and connecting with women all over the world on similar situations.

As much as Lauren hates to miss any time with clients, she will not be able to be as present in the gyms as she would like while undergoing treatment. Knowing this, and that most treatments that attack the root causes of cancer are not covered by insurance, has me wondering how we can support Lauren and her family.

I'm asking you to join me in supporting Lauren in accessing every treatment option. While we can't take away the stress and anxiety the cancer diagnosis will cause her, we can help ease the stress by knowing she is able to attack this diagnosis from every direction. We also know she will take this experience and help many women with their own battle in the future.

******* Lauren’s Story *******

Life had been a blur after back-to-back pregnancies, navigating COVID, and opening our second CrossFit location. During the chaos, a dear friend and mentor had let me know she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was a major blow and I struggled with what to say to her. For months all I could manage was letting her know that I love her, and that I was praying for her.

Soon after competing at CrossFit Regionals 2018, I had stopped training for CrossFit competitions. This was the first time since grade school I wasn’t “training" or working towards a sports specific goal. This led to many weeks of missed workouts as I dove deeper into business and our family of 6 got busier and busier. I knew I was losing myself, but convinced myself I would spend time on my health “soon.”

As my friend was finishing up her Chemotherapy treatment, I was inspired to make some time for myself and make my pesky annual appointment. After being rescheduled, it would fall on the exact day, at the exact day time, my sweet friend would ring the bell, signaling she had completed her chemo treatment.

One chapter of her life was closing as my whole story with Breast Cancer would just be getting started.

The appointment went well, and the Dr. let me know that although I was 37 it was time for some blood work and a mammogram. Avoiding needles at all costs, I decided I would walk right over and schedule a mammogram to avoid any more pressure to have my blood drawn.

I have been experiencing something called Vaso Vagal Syncope since I was 18 months old. Essentially my body activates the fight-or-flight response, most of the times I am confronted with any sort of medical procedure. I pass out, don’t know where I am when I wake up, throw up multiple times and feel like crap for a solid 24hrs. As I’ve gotten older, it has tended to happen mostly when needles are involved - so I steer clear at all costs. I will cry like a baby and shake uncontrollably if you tell me I need a shot. It’s not cute.

I showed up for my mammogram with my daughter because I was so confident that everything would be fine, even feeling like it would be a positive moment for her to see her moment taking this proactive step with her health.

Wrong. Halfway through the mammogram, which was painful on the left side, I did what I do, I passed out. Sorry daughter.

I went home and soon got a call that I needed to get another mammogram. I expected the nurse to be calm and explain that they weren’t able to get all the pictures because I passed out. Except she didn’t. She sounded very concerned and said the radiologist may have seen something.

What? …

Surely this was a scare tactic. I have great insurance. They just want to do more tests. I’m healthy.

I didn’t schedule it. I was still feeling awful for this episode of passing out. I didn’t feel like going through that again for no reason.

Soon, I got a call from my OB’s office. Very causally telling me they needed more pictures and that I needed to go back.

A few calls to friends and I was convinced that because of my age and health focus - that I would not need a mammogram. What a waste of time and unnecessary stress.

More calls from the office came in. I decided to schedule the appointment. I needed to go to a different office that can accommodate people like me (giant babies). There was also the promise of medication I could take the day off to ease my anxiety.

I arrived for my second mammogram, announcing to everyone that I was on Xanex, but that it wasn’t working. A sweet nurse kindly told me that I looked like I had taken Xanax. That still makes me chuckle.

Immediately after the second mammogram, I was told I would need a biopsy. Needles!? I went into full meltdown and left without an appointment. How unnecessary this all is!

The next day, I called to schedule. I nervously made jokes the entire time and started asking the radiologist about how often this is results in no cause for concern. He gave me nothing. Everything he said, pointed to this was something to be concerned about. Thank goodness for Xanax.

That sweet radiologist knew that I would be checking MYCHART the instant the result was in there. And on 10/11, the day after the biopsy and 3 days after my birthday, at 4pm that sweet radiologist called me and didn’t let me wait until the next day.

And as my oldest son took off on his 5th grade Cross Country race, I was told that I, Lauren always worried about health and fitness Conner, had Breast Cancer.