How did you find out you had breast cancer?
I was 28 years old when I found the lump myself. I was in the shower and noticed something "off." A couple weeks later, I went to my gynecologist who told me to watch it for a month – as most lumps in young women are hormonally related and totally normal. After a month or so, it was still there. That was also when I noticed a little "dimple" in my skin. The dimple freaked me out a little, so back I went to the doctor. I had a mammogram and ultrasound the next day and was diagnosed two days later. About a month after my 29th birthday.
What types of breast cancer treatments were recommended?
I had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. Following surgery, four rounds of dose dense A/C and four rounds of taxol were recommended. After chemo, I had 25 rounds of radiation. I am currently on hormonal treatment and am part of the SOFT trial – investigating ovarian suppression in pre-menopausal women.
How did you research breast cancer and breast cancer treatments?
I read books. I got Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book the day after I was diagnosed. I spent a lot of time on breastcancer.org. I googled my pathology symptoms. I was in chat rooms and on message boards for hours asking people questions. I read every piece of literature the doctors gave me. I joke that I currently have an internet oncology degree.
How did you tell your family?
I was at my parent's house when I got the phone call from my doctor. So my husband and my mother heard me on the phone – as the nervous breakdown that followed. I had a few close family and friends who knew about the lump and the concerns, so they were a little easier. To this day, I think saying, "I have something to tell you. I have breast cancer." was one of the hardest parts about the whole thing. Somehow saying it aloud made it real.
Are you involved with any breast cancer support groups, fundraisers or breast cancer organizations?
Breast cancer has become a huge outlet for service for me. I am very active in 2 support groups in Atlanta – one for young women, and one including women of all ages and cancers. I volunteer with the local YSC chapter here, as well as communicate on the national level. I am walking the Breast Cancer 3-day for the second time this year. And I recently finished training to become a Y-ME hotline peer counselor. Breast cancer sucks, but it has given me the opportunity to meet such a wonderful group of people.
What advice would you give to someone newly diagnosed with breast cancer?
Take a deep breath. Learn what you can about your disease. Knowledge truly is power in this battle. Ask questions. Grab a notebook and start making a list of questions. Take someone with you to your doctor's appointments. Rely on those people. When someone offers to help you, take them up on it. Now isn't the time to be a hero. You don't have to do it all. If there was ever a time to be selfish, it's now. Let someone do your laundry, run your errands, call the insurance company. Take a nap. Rest when you can. You'll get through it.
What advice would you give the family members and friends of someone diagnosed with breast cancer?
Learn about their disease. They will want someone to talk to about pathology and receptors and margins – learn enough to be able to speak to them about those things. Offer to go to the doctor with them or take them to their appointments. Offer to take charge of insurance or prescriptions or keeping the records. Offer to do the mundane things that they won't have the energy to do. And when you offer to do something, and the person says they don't need anything – do something anyway. Send a card, drop off some dinner, and give them a hug. OR spend some time not talking about cancer at all. Sometimes they need that more than anything.
As a breast cancer survivor, what thoughts do you have on surviving breast cancer and being a breast cancer survivor?
I'm not sure I would begin to have the words. Or maybe there are too many words. In a nutshell, I would say my life is forever changed. On the flip side, life goes on and in a lot of ways it's no different. I still get up and work. I play with my dogs. I enjoy time with my husband. In some ways, life is just as it was. Only it's not. Maybe I appreciate it more now.
Name three breast cancer book you would recommend:
Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book
Why I wore lipstick to my Mastectomy
Fighting for our Future
Name other breast cancer related resources that you recommend:
