Aril Ferrara

Enjoying a new relationship, celebrating a successful art show and thinking about going back to school to finish her degree, Aril Ferrara’s life felt just right.

Despite this, Aril from Southern Indiana, was facing appointment after appointment because she just didn’t feel good. With each appointment, she got the same response. Her doctors told her that since she was 25 now, she was going to be tired and might not feel great all the time.

When an extreme pain in her left chest made it hard to breathe, Aril decided to have a breast exam. Previously, she had noticed a lump in her breast, but left it alone thinking she was being a hypochondriac.

Following concerning results, Aril immediately went to UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center. First, she had an ultrasound. Then, a biopsy, which concluded she had breast cancer. It wasn’t either of those tests, though, that saved her life.

Aril’s oncologist, Beth Riley, M.D., FACP ordered further testing, just to check if the cancer in Aril’s body had spread. The PET scan revealed that, at only age 25, Aril had Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The cancer had spread to her bones, specifically in her hips and spine. When her loved ones were told, “We are not going to cure her, we are going to keep her comfortable,” Aril realized just how serious the diagnosis was. 

Aril was forced to change and adapt as she learned to accept that she was no longer a normal 25-year-old: “When I got the diagnosis, I was crushed. I had just met the love of my life and I was just starting my art career. I was thinking about going back to school to finish my degree when my life stopped. I had to quit my jobs. I had to literally, completely change my whole life.”

Due to the state of her cancer, Aril underwent weekly chemo treatments for a year before moving to immunotherapies once every three weeks. Dr. Riley did not advise surgery or further chemotherapy because Aril’s cancer is not curable, and she didn’t want Aril to endure more than her body could handle.

Though Aril is often the youngest patient in the room, she has endless appreciation for the nurses who care for her: “I think my favorite part of the Brown Cancer Center is the nurses that deliver my treatment each week. Literally every single person that has ever given me my infusion is wonderful.”

Aril’s favorite infusion nurse lets her paint while in the infusion chair. The two have become friends throughout Aril’s journey. Aril even painted a piece during both of her bone biopsies for her anesthesiologist, who Aril recalls kept her calm throughout the whole process.

Life is much different now for Aril than it was before. Aril has shifted her focus to things that she does have, as opposed to what she doesn’t have. She had to quit her job, as she can’t work long hours, and instead fills her time volunteering as a radio DJ and at a shelter for children, where she paints the walls and does art with the kids. She volunteers three times a week and finds it very rewarding, as it is something she has always wanted to do but never had the chance to.

“Things happen to people, and this happened to me. You can either sit down and cry and wonder why – which sometimes I do, I won’t lie – or you can get up and wipe off your boots and keep going, keep making art and keep doing what you were doing before and what you love,” Aril advises.

Instead of giving up, Aril made an effort to hang out with her friends more, and to do the things she loved most. She constantly works to stay positive and to keep an uplifting mindset.

Aril also recalls the best thing to come out of the diagnosis, her marriage. As Aril faced a terminal diagnosis, she and her partner came to realize that they wanted to be together through sickness and in health. Her husband has been her biggest supporter throughout the process, bringing her to all of her treatments and appointments and cooking clean, healthy food to help support her wellbeing.

Two years after her diagnosis, Aril still doesn’t know how much time she has left, but her treatment is working well. Thanks to the Brown Cancer Center, she has hope that she can live long enough to have a good life with her husband, whether that be five more years or 25 more years.

Aril wasn’t given a timeline, and she feels it is the best thing the Brown Cancer Center did for her because she is able to focus on enjoying her life, comfortably. In fact, she is thriving.

As for advice from Aril, “Get your mammogram. If I could say anything to any young woman around here, do your self-breast exams. Do everything you can. Get your mammogram. Get your health checked.”