In 1998 my dad was informed that he carried the breast cancer gene, the BRACII gene. He had history of breast cancer in the 70s after being in the Vietnam War. A research study through the Air Force tested him for the breast cancer gene panel. When my husband, a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, researched about the BRACII we decided I needed to be tested for it. Having the BRACII gene greatly increased a woman's (and man's) chance of getting breast cancer. I was distraught when I found that I carried the BRACII gene. I called my OB/GYN and got my first mammogram in 1999. It was normal. My doctor told me to examine my breasts monthly and come back next year for a mammogram.
The next summer our family had gone out in our boat for the afternoon. It was July 2000 and I was 39 years old. Our daughters were four and two years old. That morning I had my second mammogram done. I had felt a small lump in my right breast and made an appointment to get a mammogram a few weeks earlier. When we got back home my OB/GYN had been leaving me messages to call him all day long. I knew something was terribly wrong. I ran and got my husband put him on the phone with my doctor. The doctors suspected I had a very aggressive form of breast cancer. We made an appointment at Tulane Medical Center and were in the Cancer Center two days later. The Tulane doctors found the lump in my right breast and also found a lump in my axilla. The doctors biopsied the tumor and confirmed it was stage 2B breast cancer. My husband and I both cried endless tears. My husband was devasted. He had already lost his first wife to a brain tumor. He needed me. The children needed me.
I agreed to be on a study protocol to help find a cure for breast cancer. I went on chemotherapy, tamoxifen daily, then had my surgery. I had immediate reconstruction after a bilateral mastecomy. After recovering from my surgery I had radiation.
I helped spread the word for women to get their mammograms by participating in the New Orleans Fox News 29 2001 "Fighting Back- A Breast Cancer Awareness Crusdae." I was filmed for a video news release for Tulane to talk about the BRACII gene, genetic testing, and the benefits of a multidisciplinary team approach to cancer treatment.
I have been free of breast cancer for two years now. I am a Neonatal ICU nurse part-time.
Teresa story first appeared in our July 2005 Newsletter |
