Tragedies, Triumphs: Cancer in the Community
By Alyssa Mueller, 10/31/19 (Header image by OliBac on Flickr Commons)
In many countries throughout the world, October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A time for uniting in fundraisers and the raising of public awareness of the struggles of survivors and fighters who’s lives are shaken to the core by these circumstances.
For Kendra Mueller from Washington, like many survivors, the news is emotionally wracking.
“I was shocked and very very sad, definitely scared. I cried…the first thing I thought of was my kids before anyone else, especially being a single mom.”
1 in 8 women are diagnosed, which is about 12% of women. Mueller was diagnosed in February of 2019.
“Luckily I had my good friend there to help me because I was pretty sure the news that I would be getting would not be good,” and while she had a good prognosis, the process was an uneasy one.
“I had an appointment with a surgeon about 10 days after I found out and she told me my prognosis was, and it appeared from the mammogram I was in the early stage of cancer but until she did the surgery and did a biopsy she would not know for sure.” She had surgery about four weeks after initially finding out.
“I had my surgery and found out that it was for sure stage 1-B and was a triple-negative type of breast cancer…I was also referred to an oncologist and he felt that I would not need the chemo and that the type of triple-negative I had was extremely rare but had a good prognosis.”
Mueller late explains, “One of the reasons I didn’t need chemo was because the cancer had not spread to any lymph nodes,” and while Kendra is cancer-free, she now gets regular 6-month checkups with mammograms and bloodwork from her oncologist.
For others, even within the same city, it’s not as easy. Biologist Rebecca Fabish, also of Washington, Illinois, has been battling breast cancer since July 27th, 2011. Much like Mueller, Fabish recalls the unpleasant surprise that came with the incident.
At first, it didn’t seem like much because “it’s just breast cancer” but then reality struck.
“It was my very first mammogram and I had just turned 40 and my friend got diagnosed so I decided it was time for me to get checked… I was by myself thinking it was no big deal and when they first said something about a mastectomy and I was numb. I am a biologist so I knew exactly how it goes and It made me even more scared.”
Fabish has struggled with her disease for sometime, going through multiple treatment methods to rid herself of the cancer that has rocked her life for so long.
“I went through radiation they did a very large margin, almost my whole chest area and down to my stomach. I had to take medicine for 5 years that made me gain 55 pounds and had severe numbness in my body and my face. I’ve had a minimum of 10 surgeries to try to reconstruct and get cancerous masses out of my breasts. I did not have to go through chemo but often radiation can have way worse side effects than chemo does.”
Having survived multiple surgical mistakes and other issues in her journey, Rebecca believes that her 8-year journey will really never come to an end.
“I am frustrated and angry at this point because I hate the way that I look. I have gained so much weight. I hate that I worry very much that it will come back as something as else and my breasts are not normal and fear and they won’t be normal. I don’t feel like a survivor because I feel like I’m always scared of it coming back.”
Editor’s Note
While Awareness Month may end at midnight, as we see, the journey is continuous for survivors and their families. Breast cancer remains a very common disease, affecting an estimated 268,600 people annually. Not only amongst women but men too.
For more information regarding breast cancer and other disease awareness, visit ww5.komen.org or call (309) 691-6906.