Think Pink: Breast Cancer Survivor Stories
Angie O'Neal
Atlanta, Georgia
Five years ago this month, Angie O’Neal, then 37, was up late making a piece of jewelry when she accidentally dropped a bead down her shirt. As she felt around for the bead, her fingers brushed against something on her right breast. It wasn’t the bead, but a lump about the size of a marble. “I freaked out,” says Angie, mom of three girls, who at the time were 13, 11, and 6.
A biopsy revealed Stage II breast cancer — a tumor had formed in her breast and had spread to a lymph node. “The hardest part was telling people,” Angie says. “I’m so used to being worried about everybody else. I can’t handle it too well when people are worried about me.” Before surgery, she endured two rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. Soon after, her hair started to fall out. “So my husband, Kenny, and I decided to shave my head,” she says. She tried wearing a wig, but found it so uncomfortable that she quickly switched to scarves. She gave those up, too. “I couldn’t believe the compliments I got with a bald head,” Angie says. “People would say, ‘You’re so beautiful.’ It was really encouraging.”
After the surgery, a lumpectomy, Angie had four more rounds of chemo, then six weeks of radiation. She even did the 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure walk in Atlanta while undergoing radiation, raising $15,000 with a team of co-workers. After a year of Herceptin, a drug that helps prevent recurrence, Angie finished all treatment in the fall of 2007. “Breast cancer isn’t something I think about on a daily basis anymore.”
Cathy Drummons
Savannah, Texas
In September 2004, Cathy Drummons, then 47, and two friends challenged each other to get in shape. To spur each other on, they registered for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas the following month. When it came time to do the 5K run/walk, the two friends backed out, but Cathy went ahead. She was awestruck by the number of participants and how many women were wearing pink shirts, signaling they were breast cancer survivors.
A couple of weeks after the walk, Cathy went for her annual mammogram, something she had done every year since turning 40. “A week later the nurse called and told me there was something they needed to look at further, but there was no reason to be alarmed,” says Cathy, whose son was 11 at the time. A second mammogram led to a biopsy. “They continued to say, ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’ So the day they called and said, ‘We hate to tell you this, but it’s cancer,’ I hit the floor.” The breast surgeon reassured Cathy that the cancer was tiny, the size of a grain of sand, and it had been caught in its earliest stage.
Cathy had a lumpectomy and endured six weeks of radiation therapy. “Afterward I made some pretty big life changes,” she says. “Three years ago, I got a divorce. I realized that life is short and I needed to try to get into a better, happier environment.” On October 16, Cathy will again be at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas, wearing the pink shirt of a survivor. “You get a new one every race,” she says. “I have a collection of them now.”
Mara Langer
San Mateo, California
Mara Langer, 42, lost both her mother and grandmother to breast cancer. Because of her strong family history, she began getting annual mammograms when she was 30. “I always knew something might show up,” she says. “The only question was, when?” The answer was 2004, shortly after she stopped breastfeeding her infant daughter. Her annual mammogram revealed ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, considered the earliest stage of breast cancer. It hadn’t spread beyond the milk duct in her left breast, but in the hopes of preventing any future breast cancer, Mara decided to have a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. “They took tissue from my abdomen and moved it up to my breasts,” Mara explains. “I always try to see the silver lining, so I looked at it as a tummy tuck and a boob job!”
Two years later, Mara was expecting again. Her husband asked, ‘How does your body feel?” Mara remembers. “Under my left armpit, where there was some leftover breast tissue, I felt this pea-sized ‘thing.’ ” She immediately had it biopsied. Breast cancer was back.
“I like to say my husband and son saved my life,” Mara says. “If I hadn’t been pregnant, David wouldn’t have asked me that question, and I wouldn’t have found it until later.” Mara had the tumor removed and started chemo two weeks later. Her son was born by C-section at 36 weeks, on Mara’s 39th birthday. Last year, to celebrate the five-year milestone after her first diagnosis, she got a pink ribbon tattooed on her ankle.
Think Pink
One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, most around age 60, but a significant number under 45. While that may sound frightening, thanks to early detection and treatment advances, women are not only surviving breast cancer, but thriving after it. Here are the basics you need to know now.
Healthy Habits
Exercise: Regular physical activity — nothing crazy, just brisk walking — for 30 to 45 minutes, three or four times a week can reduce your risk of breast cancer by 25 percent, according to The National Cancer Institute.
Limit alcohol: Any kind and amount of alcohol is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. A glass of wine once in a while is fine, but drinking every day is not a good idea. Studies show that women who have more than three drinks per day have an almost 50 percent higher risk than those who are teetotalers.
Maintain a healthy weight: Being overweight after menopause seriously affects your risk. Losing a few pounds can be difficult, so even if menopause seems far away, it’s worth getting to a healthy weight now.
Eat wisely: Many doctors recommend eating a mostly plant-based diet (lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, along with healthy fats like olive oil), though there’s no conclusive evidence that certain foods or diets will actually protect against cancer.
Double Check
Breast Self-Exam
The American Cancer Society made headlines several years ago when it changed its stance on regular Breast Self-Exams (BSE) from recommended to merely an option. The justification was there was little data showing BSEs helped with early detection. But many experts say performing a BSE every month after your period may help. “The reality is about 20 to 25 percent of breast cancers are found by physical examination, and it’s usually the woman who feels it herself first,” says Dr. Weiss.
Clinical Breast Exam
The American Cancer Society recommends that women in their 20s and 30s have a breast exam by a healthcare professional every three years. Women 40 and older should have one every year.
Mammogram
The American Cancer Society and most experts recommend that women of average risk for breast cancer have a screening mammogram every year beginning at age 40 (and sooner if you’re at increased risk). If possible, find an imaging center with digital mammography. Dr. Weiss: “Digital is superior to film mammography particularly in women under 50 and in any woman with dense breasts,” she says.
Who's at Risk?
All women, and the biggest risk factors are not exactly within our control. They include getting older and the number of menstrual cycles we have in our lifetime. Why do more periods increase breast cancer risk? The more periods you have (starting younger and ending older), the longer you’re exposed to high levels of estrogen. The more estrogen breast tissue sees, the more likely that tissue is to possibly develop changes that could turn malignant.
Family history matters, too. If your mother or sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, especially if it was before she hit menopause, you’re at greater risk. The same holds true if you have multiple extended family members on either side who’ve had the disease. But just because no one in your family has had it doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Most women who get breast cancer don’t have a family history of the disease.
As a risk factor, motherhood is a mixed bag. Having your first child before age 30, having more than one child, and breastfeeding appear to have a protective effect. Confoundingly, though, having your first child after 30 appears to slightly increase risk. “We’re not really sure why this is,” says Dr. Oratz. “It may have to do with the way that the balance of hormones is playing itself out in the body.”
