In this edition of 1,000 Cancer Survivor Stories, Tammy shares her 30 year story of courage, tenacity, loss and bravery as she faced 3 separate breast cancer diagnoses.

As a living example, she shows us how to stand up for what we believe in; make decisions and take action on our own behalf; participate in our own healing; and be shaped, not defined by our cancer diagnosis.

It was January 1988 and I was employed as a Cartographer at the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center in St. Louis, Mo. While sitting at my desk, my hand inadvertently dropped like a magnet to a lump on the left side of my chest. In that split second, I knew. My mother had died 6 years before at the age of 49 from breast cancer after a 7-year fight. I was soon to learn that breast cancer can develop in the next generation 10 years earlier than the diagnosis of the parent. Doctors refer to this as anticipation.
That phenomenon put me in the ballpark as my 31st birthday was approaching.

Following a surgical lumpectomy on my left breast and axillary lymph node removal, the prognosis wasn’t good. My tumor was diagnosed as being aggressive and I had lymph node involvement. With that, I was given a 45% chance of living 5 years! This was unacceptable to me. My marital life was only beginning! This statistic was not going to keep me from having the fairy tale ending. Surgery was followed by radiation treatments and chemotherapy. I would check into the hospital on Friday evening after a full work week.

My drugs (adriamycin, cytoxan, 5FU) were administered intravenously throughout the night. The next morning, I was served breakfast in bed and I went home. The constant vigilance of white counts, hair loss, hospitalization (after catching the common cold), and the harvesting of my bone marrow were some of the negative aspects of treatment that I experienced at that time.

This was all going to be in the rear-view mirror soon and I needed to look to the future.

The decision to start a family was a tough one. It went against the advice given by a former doctor of mine. While we carefully considered his advice, I did not want to look back on my life with regret. Due to the aggressive cancer treatment that my body had gone through, there was a strong chance that I wouldn’t be able to conceive. At the time I was also on adjuvant therapy taking a new drug called tamoxifen. The recommendation was to continue taking this drug for 5 years. I decided after 3 years to stop taking it to start a family. The odds were against it but my dream of having a family was realized. My son was born in 1993 and my daughter was born in 1994. I was truly blessed.

It had been 21 years since my first diagnosis. Now, I was 52 years old with 2 teenagers at home. I had quit my job shortly before the birth of my daughter, so I didn’t have to deal with work related issues, but it was still hard. I was older, and my body wasn’t as resilient. Navigating cancer treatment while keeping a positive attitude is hard. Especially when you want the least amount of negativity to impact the daily lives of your children.

This time my tumor was in my right breast and was diagnosed as a triple negative. This meant that there were no positive receptors present for estrogen, progesterone, or a new protein that had been discovered called her-2/neu. It was considered a primary cancer. The treatment for triple negative tumors was once again going to be aggressive. The only difference in treatment for me now compared to 21 years before were the drugs and how they were going to be administered. No more overnight hospital stays and breakfast in bed! Hmmmm.

Upon entering the infusion room where I was to have my chemo treatments, I was hit by deep introspection. I watched the interaction of all the patients sitting there with their loved ones and support group. It was my first treatment and I had yet to lose my hair. That first day, I didn’t feel like I belonged there, and I really didn’t ever want to have that feeling of inclusiveness. I was comforted having my husband there knowing that he was an arm’s length away to be my advocate for anything within his power. The generosity of support given me by my friends and family greatly helped me get through treatment. With their help, I was once again empowered to fight the good fight.

In 2009, genetic testing was available for the presence of hereditary breast cancer genes. I decided to find out if I had a higher risk for breast cancer because of inherited genetics. Due to the current state of scientific understanding at the time, the result was interpreted as being a “genetic variant of uncertain significance”. (I believe there were not enough people in the database due to the high cost of the test.). Over the next 6 years, the result of the BRCA 1 sequencing test was reclassified as being a deleterious mutation. I accepted the fact that if I was ever to receive a breast cancer diagnosis a third time, the only surgical option would be bilateral mastectomy.

Even with an interpreted result of “uncertain significance”, my team recommended that I have an oophorectomy. This preventive surgery was shown to decrease breast cancer risk as well as the risk for ovarian cancer. After the surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, I decided that I was no longer going to give lip service to the 4th step in my recovery. I was now going to take a more active role in getting my body as strong as possible. That included changes in my diet as well as a consistent exercise program.

The only viable option for me was to have my latissimus muscles threaded from my back, under my arm, to form the pocket for implants. Recovery from this procedure would mean my upper body strength would be impaired and the final cosmetic result was not going to be worth losing the ability to lift myself out of a hot bath! So, my decision to go flat was predetermined. I have never regretted this decision and use prosthetics to allow my clothing to fit. To be honest, I still don’t want to look like I am less than whole.

I know that I have been fortunate having excellent healthcare and healthcare providers through the years. That is the reason I am still alive. I believe that I received the best care that was available each and every time I received a diagnosis. One doctor said that I was the poster “child” of cancer treatment.

I also believe that taking an active role in your recovery is important. I wasn’t going to take a back seat in the decision process. In 1988, after I was introduced to the oncologist that came to my recovery room, I knew that I didn’t want to spend any more time with him! At the time, doctors were working independently of each other. I needed to find someone who I connected with and trusted to provide me with emotional wellness as well as cancer treatment. By 2009, I found a group of professional doctors who specialized in breast cancer. My surgeon, oncologist, and radiologist were all in the same practice. That is the standard practice today. I think it helps the patient navigate what lies before them.

My attitude has always been to embrace life as fully as possible. Today, I feel strong and believe to be in excellent health. We all have a story to tell whether it is fraught with cancer stories or something else. Cancer has been a big part of my story, but I don’t like it to define who I am. It may not define me but there can’t be any doubt that it has shaped who I am today.

Tamara Iverson Pryor
St Louis, Missouri

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