Cancer. It’s that dirty little six letter word that no one wants to hear they have. It’s even worse when you learn that someone you love and care about has it. Cancer is a disease that I’ve come to know quite well, one that I hope to never have to deal with again. My half-brother passed away last year from leukemia, and my uncle passed away from the same disease earlier this year.
On May 16th of this year, on my birthday of all days, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 1 non-invasive breast cancer, also known as Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS).
To say my entire world fell apart in that moment is an understatement. I was devastated. My mom had cancer. And not just any cancer. Breast cancer. I didn’t know what to do. My mom and I are close, and I often jokingly refer to us as the Gilmore Girls. She’s the Lorelai to my Rory. The thought that I might lose her sooner than expected was terrifying. We all have this fantasy that our parents will be with us forever, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Some people lose their parents sooner than others, and I was afraid that was going to happen to me.
It was her yearly mammogram that picked up the cell clusters. It was such a small site and appeared as a white shadow. Most doctors probably would have let it go, but thankfully doctors here sent my mom for another mammogram just to be sure. When the second mammogram came back with the same results, a biopsy was requested. It appeared they were doing everything in their power to be sure that it was either a) calcium build-up in the duct walls, which can happen as women age, or b) anything but breast cancer.
When the biopsy did come back that the cells were in fact cancerous, it was like everything started to move in slow motion. My mom had no symptoms. There were no lumps, no strange abnormalities. Nothing was off. The only real symptom she had was tenderness around the nipple, which is where DCIS usually forms. But even then, that wasn’t enough cause for alarm.
Thankfully though, the type of breast cancer she had was treatable with surgery to remove the cell clusters, followed by a month of daily radiation treatment, and starting on Tamoxifen, a cancer preventive drug, at the end of radiation. Doctors said her survival rate was 99.99%, and the chances of it coming back would decrease the longer she is on the Tamoxifen.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and it’s more important than ever for women to share their stories and what to look for, and to be proactive in their breast health. As it stands right now, the majority of insurance companies are REQUIRED to cover mammograms, pap tests, and other female reproductive healthcare. Women who cannot afford insurance are left to seek low cost mammograms elsewhere.
Had my mom not had her insurance, there is absolutely no way we would have been able to pay for her treatments and continual follow up visits. The surgery itself was nearly $30,000. She will have to have two clean six month breast exams and mammograms before she can go back to the yearly scheduled mammograms. Without insurance, those exams can cost up to $200, if not more. She will have to be on Tamoxifen the rest of her life, and without insurance, it can cost $100 or more for one little pill.
According to Breastcancer.org, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. It’s estimated that 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancer, and over 63,000 new cases of non-invasive cancer are expected. 85% of breast cancer occurs in women who have no family history of breast cancer. My mom’s great aunt three generations back had breast cancer, but since then there have been no other cases so it wasn’t an inherited cancer. Unfortunately for me, since my mom had it, there is now a greater risk of my developing breast cancer as I get older, and it was suggested that I start getting mammograms at age 30 instead of waiting until age 45.
The key to a greater chance of surviving breast cancer is early detection. The earlier it is found, the more treatable it is. You’re not considered ‘cured’ until you are at least five years in remission with no recurrence. That's why if Congress decides to completely eliminate or make it that much more difficult for women to get access to the basic necessities such as mammograms, our breasts, and our health, are in serious trouble.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is why I'm sharing my mom's story with all of you. She was one of the luckier ones in that we found it before it became much more serious. Early detection saved my mom's life, as did the doctors who decided that a second glance was worth it. Some women aren't so lucky.
That's why it's so important for us to speak up and be proactive about not only our breast health, but our health in general. It's important that we put our health first, and that we are conscious of any changes, noticeable or subtle. If something feels off or doesn't quite feel right, don't be afraid to get it checked out.
