1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
I was one of those women. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in September 2022.
The good news
They found it early. My doctor spotted something in my annual mammogram and it was checked with a biopsy. Once my doctor confirmed it was cancer, everything moved quickly. We met a surgeon, oncologist and radiologist who specialize in breast cancer treatment and have helped hundreds of women beat it.
The plan:
- surgery to remove the cancer cells and lymph nodes for testing
- chemotherapy to kill the growth of new cancer cells
- radiation to destroy any remaining cancer cells in the breast or surrounding areas to reduce the risk of recurrence
After surgery, we discovered the affected area was bigger than anticipated. My diagnosis was now Stage 2. This meant more chemo and immunotherapy, which enhances the immune system’s natural ability to detect and fight cancer.
The journey
The path to survival was rough. Chemotherapy is every bit as bad as you think it is. It makes you uncomfortably sick. There are times that you can’t keep anything down – not even water – and the thought of eating something makes you physically nauseous. Your entire body aches and it’s hard to conjure the energy to get out of bed. Some days, you don’t even want to because if you did, you would see just how much your appearance has changed. You’ve lost weight and your hair is falling out at rapid pace. You feel ugly. You feel sad. And you’re terrified that you aren’t strong enough to get through this.
But with the support of family, friends, colleagues and a wonderful network of nurses and doctors, I was able to get through it. December 2023 was my last immunotherapy treatment, and every follow up scan, blood test and appointment this year have been clean. No new cancer has been detected and my body is healing and getting stronger each day.
I am a cancer survivor.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
I’m sharing my story with you because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This means, you will know at least one person who has been personally affected by breast cancer.
But there is hope.
Early detection has significantly increased breast cancer survival rates in recent years. There are currently more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Schedule your mammogram today
As a Director of Public Relations and Communications, my days are spent collaborating with and supporting the open source community. As a mom of two teenage athletes, my hobbies include ubering them to practices and attending games five days a week. There is very little down time.
I’m sure many working parents can relate to this – we often tend to the needs of our children and family before our own. In some cases, we even put aside our own health like annual doctor visits or screenings.
Schedule your screening today. Don’t wait. An estimated 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. this year as well as 56,500 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
Early detection saved me. I perform self-exams pretty frequently but didn’t feel this lump. In fact, the size of the mass in my breast was bumped up to Stage 2 after surgery. If I had waited any longer to get the mammogram, the cancer could have spread to more of my breast or maybe even my lymph nodes. That might have put me in Stage 3 cancer, which means it is spread beyond the breast to nearby tissues and resulted in a more complex treatment plan.
Age is just a number
During my weekly chemotherapy sessions, I felt a camaraderie with the other patients, even though they were older – mostly men and women aged 55 years old and up. I was usually the youngest person in the room.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the average age of U.S. women diagnosed with breast cancer is 62 years old.
But things are changing. About 9% of all new breast cancer cases in the U.S. are diagnosed in women younger than 45 years old. In fact, patients under the age of 35 at the time of their diagnosis, face a higher risk of breast cancer recurrence.
I won’t tell you how old I am (because I feel much older than I am) but I fall within the 9%. I wasn’t worried about cancer – my family doesn’t have a history of it. My diagnosis was a complete surprise. Even if you are younger than 45, fight for your health. Make sure you are doing self-exams and get a mammogram so that you have a base for comparison.
As we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I am asking you to wear pink at some point in October to showcase your support for patients and survivors.
Let’s stand together to honor those who are currently fighting breast cancer and those warriors who have survived. If you would like to share your story this month, please email me at maemalynn@linuxfoundation.org.
