Woman survives breast cancer twice - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Doris Riccelli doesn't have to go far to stop and smell the roses.

She operates a landscaping business with her husband and from the looks of their garden, they're pretty good at it.

"My husband and I both just love flowers and vegetation," Riccelli said.

As a breast cancer survivor, Riccelli never takes simple joys like walking through her garden for granted.

At a young age, Riccelli knew she was at-risk for breast cancer. Her mother was diagnosed with it, so she started receiving mammograms in her 20s. All was well until her 40th birthday.

"I was just turning from 39 to 40 and found a lump in my left breast," Riccelli said.

She went to the doctor and confirmed the devastating news – the lump she felt in the shower was cancer.

"As I was walking out of the hospital that day, of course I was upset. I'm walking through the doors out of the hospital and it was like, something just came over me. It was like this audible voice that said they didn't spend enough time on your right side," Riccelli said.

That little voice in her head soon grew into a shout that later came into play during her fight with cancer.

Riccelli underwent surgery for the lump in her left breast and began chemotherapy treatments through a port inserted in her right breast.

Doctors removed it when it became infected and immediately wanted to insert a new one, but Riccelli remembered that voice.

"Something again said don't do it," she said.

"Two months later, I was doing another self-breast exam in the shower and I found a lump exactly where that port was," Riccelli said.

That new lump turned out to be a new cancer that was not associated with her first one.

"If the port had been in there, there's no way I would have felt it," Riccelli said. She believes that inner voice that told her to refuse another port ultimately saved her life.

Riccelli tells this story to her 24-year-old daughter who also started self-breast exams, knowing that her mother Doris and her grandmother were diagnosed with breast cancer.

But Riccelli wanted to tell her story to others. She approached fellow church member Rachel Jackson about publishing an online magazine filled with stories just like hers.

They started a website called "Shattered" – a word they say accurately describes the feeling one's life changing forever.

"Things can be shattered in a positive way too. You can shatter walls and shatter barriers and pre-conceived notions," Jackson said.

Jackson's mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer. She understands first-hand what shared stories can do for others.

"The stories that we have are our most powerful witness to the world, they really are. They're our personal stories that you don't see inside people's homes," Jackson said.

Together, Jackson and Riccelli hope their website will empower others and encourage them to trust that voice you hear in your darkest hour.

"I'm just hopeful it will give other people inspiration and hope," Riccelli said.

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