Denise's Story

In December 2007 I had planned to run the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon with several friends of mine and I wasn't going to let the recently noticed change in my left breast deter me from my goal and the promise to my friends. I had talked to my close friends about a small lump I had found and knew I needed to get checked and was reassured when 2 of them had also found lumps that turned out not to be cancerous. I finally made the doctor's appointment when I arrived home from Las Vegas a little dehydrated and my husband remarked about the change in my breast. My breast had become puckered in the area of the growth, a worrisome sign unbeknownst to me, and was much more noticeable when my body was dehydrated.

I went to see my doctor in January, who sent me for a mammogram. The mammogram didn't show anything definitive, so they sent me to ultrasound. The tech took pictures and measurements and then went to find the radiologist. The radiologist wanted to biopsy the growth immediately, so I felt some concern. I had a consult with a surgeon who gave me hope in the fact that it was highly unlikely that an active 35 year old woman with no family history of breast cancer was going to be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Two days later, January 25th, 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.I was shocked and scared. Mostly scared that this was going to completely alter my life and my family's life and already mourning the fact that I was going to lose my hair. I knew enough about breast cancer to know that many women are diagnosed with breast cancer and many are cured, so I was not afraid of dying. I did, however, have to go through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy.

My whirlwind began with an MRI, which showed three more growths in the same breast. I elected to have a masectomy right away. The surgery was performed the first week of February and went well. Next on the list was chemo and I began biweekly treatments in March and finished June 13th, 2008. I had very supportive family, friends and neighborhood who helped me with meals, cleaning, taking my kids, or anything else needed. My best girlfriends continued to walk/run and lift weights with me even when I could only run downhill or walk the whole way. I was able to go to all of my kids' basketball, soccer and baseball games by cutting out some of the cleaning and volunteering that I did during the day while my children were at school. I prioritized the things in my life and then stuck to what I could handle. Excercise helped me handle chemo in a more positive way and actually made the aches associated with one of the chemo drugs less painfull.

I began radiation at the beginning of July and have 5 1/2 weeks worth of every day (5 days a week) treatments. So far, this seems easy in comparison to chemotherapy, but I have not noticed any side effects yet. I am told these are yet to come. (Redness, tiredness, etc.)

This week, I elected to have an oopherectomy and a hysterectomy. I have spoke to several doctors and read up on the hormone therapy I will need to be on for the next five years and decided that I wanted to be on an aromatase inhibitor for post menopausal women.

My biggest fear when I found out I had cancer was that this was going to take all my time and energy. I didn't want cancer to change everything in my life. I have 3 beautiful children who need a mom who can help them with their homework, cheer for them at their games and kiss them before bed. I wanted to be able to run and lift weights like I have for the better part of my life. How was this all going to work?That is what I learned from cancer. Face cancer, head on, like any other challenge. After a good cry, get the information you need to make decisions. Make those decisions and get going. There's nothing like marking something off your list of things to do. Prioritize the things in your life and then do as many of those things as you can. As long as I was there for my kids and husband and was able to excercise, everything else was able to be put off. Think positive and take action. Being inactive gives you more time to worry and "what if" yourself.

We live in a time when great advances have been made in the breast cancer research and treatment. There is much hope to be felt in this fact!