According to BreastCancer.org, “In women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African American women than white women.” For Shelley Barnes, this is more than just a statistic.

Barnes, a two-time breast cancer survivor, was first diagnosed at the age of 25 when she went to check out a lump she found after performing a self-examination. Despite undergoing surgery to remove the lump, two years later the cancer returned. She went through chemotherapy to fight the cancer and around that time started a blog, The Frolicking Champion, to document her journey.

WATCH: B*REAL: DOES ALCOHOL INCREASE CHANCES OF BREAST CANCER?

In her interview with B*Real, she stressed the importance of going to the doctor at the first warning sign, “Because things can get worse if you ignore them."

Shelley hopes that by sharing her story she can help another woman going through the same thing. She explains why she not only calls herself a "survivor" but an "overcomer": "To overcome something means not only have you overcome the physical part of it, you’ve overcome the mental, spiritual. You’ve learned something from it, you’ve grown from it.”

See more of Shelley Barnes' interview in the video below, B* Real: The Defining Moment | Fighting for My Life Not Once But Twice:

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(Photo: Courtesy of Shelley Barnes)