Very few days go by in my job at Touched By Cancer that I do not get to hear or read remarkable accounts of people like you and me facing the odds with bravery and hope. Personal stories make a profound difference to those looking for common ground in the face of a diagnosis. I share the feelings of our founder, Lori Lober, when she writes in her book Bigger Than Pink, "I'm telling my story with the hope that it will make someone else's journey easier."
So, thank you, Linda, it is generous and brave of you to share your story with our readers.
Here is Linda's story....
I would like to share with you a most remarkable story of my life.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my right breast in July of 2005. My diagnosis was DCIS which is “ductal carcinoma in situ” which means that it is the lowest grade of malignancy for breast cancer, and it is not invasive. So I was very lucky that it was found early. I went through surgery for a partial mastectomy and had 7 weeks of radiation therapy and went on hormone therapy. I thought all was well. In June of 2006, I had a follow up mammogram and they found a suspicious spot in the left breast. Biopsy found it to also be DCIS. I then had to make the decision as to what I wanted to do. I was thinking that two diagnosis’s of breast cancer in one year on both sides was not good, and that maybe I should just have bilateral mastectomies instead of doing the partial and radiation again. Also, I did not want to have this be an issue every year. I called my oncologist and he said that data shows that partial mastectomy and radiation for DCIS is just as effective as total mastectomies and that I would have to decide as to what I wanted to do. I called my radiologist and told him I was thinking about bilateral mastectomies instead of doing the partial and radiation. He said, “Why would you do that? You are over reacting. DCIS is treatable and we cured your right side and we can cure your left” I was on an emotional roller coaster, one minute thinking I would go with the mastectomies, and the next thinking to just go the partial and radiation again.
Then it was recommended that I have an MRI study of both breasts before we did anything to make sure there was nothing else going on, which was done and there was an area of concern back on the right side again that needed to be biopsied. After two mammograms, two MRIs, two biopsies, (I did not have the results of the 2nd biopsy) I still did not know what I wanted to do from one minute to the next. I was scheduled for surgery for either a partial or double onl Friday, the 30th of June at Lincoln Surgery Hospital at 12:30pm. We would not have the results from the biopsy on the right until the 29th. I talked to a lot of people and had a lot of people praying for me during all this, but just did not know what to do. On Weds. night , I just prayed and said, “ Lord, I just can’t make up my mind, I don’t know what to do. Please give me a sign tomorrow to let me know what I should do. I am going to leave it up to you” Thursday turned out to be a remarkable day that I could not have planned if I had tried.
I work as a nurse anesthetist for Associated Anesthesiologists PC. and we staff several surgery centers in addition to Bryan East and West. I had been scheduled to work at East on that Thursday, but they called and asked me to go the LSH (Lincoln Surgery Hospital) that day. This was the first of many things that happened. When I got to LSH, my surgeon Dr. Norris just happened to be there that day and came in to talk to me. ( he does very little surgery at LSH) He asked how I was doing and if I had decided what I wanted to do. We did not have the biopsy report yet and I said I didn’t know . He said that I had until 7am on Friday to decide and that he would get hold of me when he got the biopsy report. He said that if I was thinking about the double mastectomies, that he would at least like me to talk to Dr. Orchard (plastic surgeon) about maybe doing some reconstructive surgery at the time of surgery, as it was easier to do that at the beginning instead of later. I said I didn’t think I would be interested in doing that but would think about it. I had planned on working all day that day, as the schedule was busy. At 11:30am, one of the anesthetists came to my room and informed me that they had rearranged the schedule and that I could go home. So, I thought, I would call Dr. Orchard’s office to see how long it would take me to get in to see him, as Dr. Norris said we could reschedule if I wanted to go that way. When I called, they said the Dr. was in but that his schedule was full. But then she said, “wait a minute, we have a cancellation at 2:30pm today if you would like to come in” I took the appointment and went to see Dr. Orchard. In the meantime, I found out that the biopsy on the right was benign so a double was not necessary unless I just wanted to go that way. After talking to Dr. Orchard, I thought it sounded like the reconstruction was something I would be interested in, and made the decision to go ahead with the double mastectomies. I told him that we would need to get hold of Dr. Norris and reschedule the surgery since I was scheduled the next day at 12:30pm. Dr. Orchard then says “it just so happens that I am free tomorrow at 12:00 and I could do it tomorrow. However, they needed some surgical supplies that they would need to order so he needed to make a phone call to see if he could get them there. He came back to tell me that they would be Fed Ex’d and would have them there by 8am tomorrow. By this time , I was overwhelmed with the way everything was working out, and knew I had received all kinds of signs that this was what I was supposed to be doing. I went to bed with total peace the night before surgery, had the surgery as scheduled and everything went well. Now, the rest of the story:
I went in to see Dr. Orchard postoperative, and he asked me if I had seen the pathology report from the tissue removed with the mastectomies. I said “no”. He said, “let me read it to you. Right breast, ductal carcinoma in situ, left breast, ductal carcinoma in situ! You had cancer on both sides, you did exactly the right thing!” I was shocked but felt so happy and blessed that God had showed me the right thing to do. If I had gone the other way, the cancer would have still been there on the right to maybe be invasive the next time around. To be diagnosed with three breast cancers, all non-invasive in a year is almost unheard of. My oncologist was also shocked, saying that the cancer on the right should not have been there with everything I had done, but that he was glad I made the decision I did. Interesting enough, I called my radiologist and told him that he had not cured me, but in fact I still had cancer on the right side. When I read him the pathology report, he said “ well, that was very small, It would have taken a long time for that to be a problem. Needless to say, that didn’t go over to well with me!!
I am one very lucky and blessed lady!! I have shared my story with many people and have had a chance to share my faith as well. God works in strange ways J. Sometimes, in the medical profession, I see so many bad and sad things that it tests my faith from time to time. This experience has really given my faith a big boost. I try to control too much some times, and have to remind myself to pray and listen!
I am sorry that this is so long of a story, but I am so inspired by my experience that I wanted to share it with you. Feel free to share my story with others if you want. What a wonderful example of the grace we are given and the power of prayer!!
One last thought for those who find themselves with the same diagnosis as mine. In retrospect,, I wish I would have just had a double mastectomy with reconstruction with the first diagnosis. I certainly can not recommend that one has a partial with radiation. My mammograms were always abnormal, and my thought was that if there was cancer in one breast, why wouldn’t there be cancer on the other side, but I was assured that the partial and radiation was the “ accepted treatment for DCIS” but as my story tells, it was no cure. Now I have and will continue to have side effects from the radiation that I will have to live with. I am lucky in that my cancer was caught early, but it was a couple of really hard years. If anyone wants to email me, I would be happy to share details of the treatment and reconstruction to help them decide what to do with their diagnosis of cancer.
Sincerely, Linda
