A woman who had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year, has shared the difficulty of dating since beating the disease.
Krista Dunzy, 26, from Dewar, in Oklahoma, had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with stage two invasive ductal carcinoma (cancer of the milk ducts) in March 2018.
After recovering from surgery the charity worker decided to re-enter the world of online dating, but was infuriated by a message from a Tinder user named Jared, asking about her breast size – just two days after they matched.
Krista hit back with a detailed account of her breast cancer battle and how it had resulted in a double mastectomy, but to her shock she was branded a ‘dumb b****’ by Jared who told her to stop acting like a feminist as that ‘gets you nowhere in life’.
When Krista, who beat what has become the most common form of breast cancer, asked how he could send such a thoughtless message, Jared proclaimed he ‘makes his own rules’.
Krista Dunzy, 26, (pictured) from Dewar, in Oklahoma, has blasted a Tinder match who sent her a series of rude messages, just days after they matched on the popular dating app
The cancer survivor sent her Tinder match Jared a lengthy post detailing her battle with stage two invasive ductal carcinoma – the most common form of breast cancer
Krista posted her interaction with Jared online in the hopes of showing how ‘breasts and hair’ are insignificant in the bigger picture and to make singletons question their sexist attitudes.
‘I don’t need a reminder of what has happened to my breasts. I see the scars across my chest every single day,’ she said.
She continued: ‘The issue isn’t with my lack of breasts due to breast cancer though, it’s the lack of respect and human decency from him.
‘That was the first message he ever sent to me. Those messages were the extent of our communication.
‘I was hurt because he was so insistent, even when I told him my story.
‘I’ve been on Tinder for a while, but I’ve come across this [behaviour] before on any platform you can think of, and in real life too.
‘It just happens this is really personal to me and I went into a lot of detail about what I’ve been through.
Krista (pictured) decided to publicly shame Jared as she was hurt by his hurt messages and doesn’t want other women to have the same experience
The 26-year-old (pictured) hopes to inspire other women to not accept blatant disrespect and to feel empowered enough to stand up for themselves
Jared accused Krista of acting like a feminist for sharing her battle with cancer, she underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy, 13 rounds of radiotherapy in addition to a double mastectomy
‘That’s why it was so important for me to say this to him.
‘I don’t want Jared to treat another woman or girl like that ever again.
‘I don’t want his mum to be treated like that, or his sister, or his future daughter. I hope they are never treated like that.
‘When it comes down to it, I want people to see that this is something women deal with on a daily basis. I don’t want the blatant disrespect Jared showed to be normalised.
‘Ultimately, I want women to feel empowered enough to stand up for themselves when someone makes them uncomfortable or is outright disrespectful.
‘We owe it to ourselves to speak our truths and stand up for ourselves.’
Krista, who also supported her mother and aunt through their battle with cancer, underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy, 13 rounds of radiotherapy and had a double mastectomy in September 2018 , nine days after her 26th birthday.
Krista (pictured centre on the last day of treatment with her friends L-R: Whitney Lawson, Mica Wilson, Kalee McCarroll, her mother Reda, Courtney Pulliam, father David, Brentney Rich and sister Sarah Price) hopes to educate others on cancer symptoms
Krista (pictured with her six-year-old niece Evan Dunzy) witnessed her mother go through cancer five years ago, her aunt also suffered the disease
The 26-year-old says it’s hard to put yourself out there and be vulnerable when dating, as you don’t know how people will react
After battling through years of illness, the charity worker is now hoping to educate people on what to look out for.
She said: ‘Dating after the double mastectomy and diagnosis has been difficult. But so was dating before.
‘It’s hard to put yourself out there and be vulnerable. You never know how people are going to react when you tell them things on that level.
‘To be diagnosed with breast cancer was really hard. Really difficult.
‘My mum had breast cancer five years previously and I’d seen her go through surgery.
‘I had an aunt that went through that. Breast cancer has taken a real big toll on our family.
‘When I was first diagnosed, one of my first thoughts was losing my hair and my breasts.
‘Then when reality set in and I saw this was actually something I had to deal with, none of those things mattered.
‘I’m not my hair, or my breasts. I’m me. Those things don’t define me at all, whatsoever. I wish people could realise that too. They’re so insignificant in the bigger picture.
Krista (pictured) who is looking forward to having breast reconstruction surgery, says she told Jared about her experience to make him learn rather than to make him apologies
Krista (pictured with her mum, dad and sister) revealed many people have reached out to her since she opened up about her battle with the disease
The charity worker (pictured) who has been given the all-clear says she would endure cancer again, if it changes how men treat women
‘I didn’t say what I did to him for him to apologise or feel bad about himself, I did it for him to learn.
‘I’ve already found peace with my diagnosis and I’m okay now, everything’s fine.
‘But if by changing men’s minds about how they treat women, I would do it all over again.’
Now she has been given the all-clear, Krista is looking forward to her breast reconstruction surgery but is certain they’ll never define her.
She added: ‘This [type of comment] is what women deal with all the time.
‘I’ve had so many people reach out to me since my breast cancer diagnosis.
‘I have even had a message from someone telling me that if I’m ever in central Oregon they’d like to buy me a beer. That’s was pretty cool.
‘I’m excited about my surgery and excited about my life.
‘[Dating after the surgery] does make me nervous but I know eventually I’ll find someone who treats me well and he’ll be worth the wait.’
Krista (pictured) is confident that she will meet someone who is worth the wait, despite being nervous of dating after surgery
Krista (pictured with her mum Reda) who is excited about life, has received a message from someone offering to buy her a beer if she’s in central Oregon