A Fairfield woman is sharing her story of surviving breast cancer twice, after nearly dying.
Lori Boersma, 58, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 after discovering a lump in the middle of the night.
She beat the cancer then. But it came back four years later -- and more aggressively. That time, Boersma suffered from all kinds of complications.
"I went from the flu to pneumonia to sepsis and then my kidneys failed," said Boersma.
She eventually had brain swelling.
"They told my daughter there's no way...when you wake up in the morning your mom will be gone," said Boersma.
Boersma was flown from Norwalk Hospital to Yale New Haven and was put into an induced coma.
"I went into the hospital in the beginning of March. It was cold and snowy, and I woke up and it was 80 degrees," Boersma recalled.
Boersma says with a lot of luck she survived. She went through rehab and has been cancer-free ever since.
"Amazingly lucky. A miracle came by, I don't know what happened and I don't know why yet. I'm sure there's a reason. I don't know what it is," she said. "My positive attitude I think really helped me because I was determined."
Boersma says six months after she walked out of rehab she went skiing in Vermont.
Boersma now rows with other cancer survivors at the Saugatuck Rowing Club three days a week.
"There's still hope. You can't give up hope," said Boersma.