“My advice for other women is to do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion. If I had not taken an active role, I would have lost my right breast, which was not the right decision for me.”
After losing her mom at 70-years old from breast cancer, Elsbeth (55) was surprised, but not shocked, when she received a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) earlier this year.
“I have always been active. I have an 18-year-old daughter and a career in interior design. In school, I was a scholarship ballerina and have continued in various forms of dance and yoga to stay fit. And over the years I have traveled extensively. I have also been getting mammograms for the past 15 years. So, as time went by, I thought that I might be able to avoid breast cancer. But it’s weird how fate works. I had a mammogram last year and learned there was ‘something’ in the image of my left breast.”
“I have dense breast, so I have been called back for second images before. And this time, the doctor identified a mass in my right breast that they said was stage zero, grade one. I opted to get a second opinion and that doctor scared me to death. They bluntly told me that I had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and I would need multiple surgeries and multiple radiation treatments, but I would live. ‘Whoa’!”
“I went back to the first center for treatment. I felt more comfortable there because they were kinder about what was happening. I had my first partial lumpectomy in November. It was a little over two centimeters and I thought great. I’m going to go in, she’s going to stitch me back up and I’ll be on my way. I was hoping I wouldn’t need radiation.”
“They sent my tissue to pathology. When it came back they let me know that they didn’t get it all.
So, after three weeks of laying on the couch, not exercising enough and living on Taco Bell, I had my second surgery to get the rest of it. But, I still didn’t have clear margins. I was told that 9 millimeters were left, and they recommended a mastectomy. My response ‘you’re going to take my whole boob off for 9 millimeters? For stage zero breast cancer? This just doesn’t sound right to me.’”
“A friend of mine recommended a doctor that she really liked. The doctor agreed that we shouldn’t do a mastectomy for 9 millimeters. She recommended that we do one more surgery. After a 3rd surgery I was told ‘we got mostly clear margins. Even though I didn’t want radiation, that is what they advised. So, I was scheduled for a month of radiation. I was really scared because I had shoulder injuries and back problems from dancing, and I knew that the position I would be in for radiation treatments was going to hurt.”
“Here is another fate story. My best friend met this gal at the dog park who had a double mastectomy and works in pathology. My friend introduced us, and she told me about DCISionRT, a molecular test that looks at your individual tumor biology to help you decide if you will benefit from radiation therapy or if you could safely de-escalate radiation or omit it. I was anxious to see if I really needed radiation. And I also wanted to know my risk of recurrence of DCIS or invasive breast cancer. I had my tissue sample forwarded to PreludeDx. When I received the DCISionRT results, I learned I had a 12% chance of my cancer returning without radiation and a 7% chance with radiation. After seeing these results, I was extremely happy that I did not move forward with the recommended mastectomy and could benefit from the radiation therapy.”
“On the last Friday of my radiation treatment, I rang the bell, which they have for people who complete their treatment. The radiation treatments were hard on my body, but I’m getting my strength back and I’m happy to be on the mend and whole. During my treatment, I used the healing powers of music therapy to get me through the process. As a dancer, music has been an integral part of my life and it played an important role in my recovery.”
“My advice for other women is to do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion. If I had not taken an active role, I would have lost my right breast, which was not the right decision for me.”
