An Unexpected Summer

On May 13 of this year, I was in Lansing about to head into a meeting with our Chapter Leaders at their retreat when I received a call that would change the course of my summer. Well, excuse the dramatics, but also my life. The call was from my radiologist confirming that my recent biopsy was positive for breast cancer. I became a statistic that is staggering: 1 in 8 women in the United States will get this same call every year.

While I was waiting for my biopsy results, I was in a very accepting mental state for bad news. I asked myself - with so many women getting diagnosed, who was I to dodge the bullet? Turns out, I didn’t.  

Everyone processes this type of news differently. There is no right way or wrong way – it is just your way. I take time to process big news. I have learned this about myself as I get older. Bad news can come, and I do not always react to it right away. I process. So, I went to the Chapter Leader meeting after learning about my results and I drank a pint (or two) at our MCUL PAC the Pub event that night and I attended our annual Governmental Affairs Conference the next day. This does not mean that I am a superhero or overly committed to my job, it just means I had things happening to hold my brain off from completely processing the news. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I learned the details and scope of my cancer and treatment. I was diagnosed with DCIS which is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This is not a form of invasive cancer, and they do not know if it will ever leave the duct, but you have to do something. I also learned that my cancer was Stage 0 – which was phenomenal news. There are some choices to make about treatment and, not surprising to my family and friends, I chose the aggressive treatment option for the best outcome. Another positive for me was that I was a candidate for robotic surgery which is less invasive. I was also able to secure a surgery date – July 28th, that would allow me to keep all my major work commitments, pre and post-surgery. This was important to me. 

My surgery did not go without some complications, and the recovery has been quite involved, which is not super surprising for such major surgery. But I am very grateful that my diagnosis was what it was – curable and survivable. Post surgery, my pathology looks great, and I am cancer-free. Another positive in my experience was learning after genetic testing, that I do not carry the breast cancer gene. This was a huge relief given that I have a 23-year-old daughter. 

For my readers that have received a cancer diagnosis, and I am positive that several of you have, first, I am sorry you got that news. It is life changing. For me, it brought significant empathy for people that are told that there is no cure; there is no treatment. Or, for those that have long treatment roads that involve medication, chemotherapy and radiation. I was spared all three. I also think about our amazing Children’s Miracle Network kids who are battling cancer or lost their lives. Heartbreaking.

Why am I sharing this very personal news with you? I have been private about the diagnosis while I was going through all the testing and my surgery.  I wanted to wait to be through it all before really talking about it. But, when I was preparing for my all-team call with my MCUL + CUSG teams a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded that our benefits provider at our office told me that several people on my team do not take advantage of screenings – like mammograms, colonoscopies, annual physicals, etc. I was troubled to hear this news. So, I decided to share my story with my team. I told them that had I not gone for my annual mammogram; I would be sitting here with cancer not knowing it. My tumor was found via routine mammogram which is often the case with DCIS. I had no symptoms, nor could I feel it. The routine screening saved my life. This is information I determined was very important to share.

For my blog, I thought, why not share this with my readers who may be in the same position.  Maybe you let your annual screenings and physical lag. Perhaps someone in your life does.  Coming out with my diagnosis can be a gentle reminder that as most of my readers have insurance, you have the ability to get screenings and have tests without spending a lot of money. This is such a privilege. Do not squander it.

As I am now working on getting back to 100%, I have had a few remaining weeks of summer to truly enjoy the fresh air and sun without being anxious about my looming surgery. I am so grateful to my colleagues, friends, and family who were there to support me down this road. You know who you are and thank you. Going through something hard, has been a reminder to me that I am lucky to have so many people who want to help and who will show up for me in so many ways. I am especially grateful to my daughter, Julia, my brother, Chris, and friends Jen Sabourin and Lolly Averbuch, who were with me during the hardest days.

For those of you currently battling cancer, or have someone in your life who is, I am sorry.  Cancer sucks. 

 

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