Toni
"I truly hope my story reaches someone newly diagnosed, so they know they’re not alone."
In November of 2003 I went to my GYN with breast pain I was 34 years old. He gave me the line "Your too young for breast cancer" He stated we will do a mammo just in case. Two mammo later. Because I am Hispanic descent and have dense breasts. BAM!!! Mammo and Biopsy showed two lesions ..no lumps. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer Invasive and DCIS. Rocked my world.. I had two young daughters seven and nine years old and husband who's lives were forever changed. My chemotherapy regime AC5FU...I was endlessly sick from the toxicity of the chemotherapy that I would be in the hospital for rehydration and neutropentia consistently . I can still remember the tears rolling down my eyes as I watched from the hospital window as my husband walk hand and hand with daughters because I was too sick to come home. After chemotherapy was completed. I participated in all the Susan G Komen Races, Making Strides, etc. Pink was always my favorite color. Actually still is I just don't like how the color is represent . I wear because it's my favorite color.
In Fall of 2008 I woke up with a lot of stomach pain. I told my husband I was going to drive myself to the hospital he offered to drive me but I didn't want to disturb the school morning with our daughter they were eleven and thirteen years old. The emergency physician comes back after the CT scan are completed states the stomach is fine but there is a lesion on your right iliac crest. HMMM... ok.. We have a biopsy..which was incredibly painful. I am waiting in hallway for the pathologist to see if there is enough sample. Unfortunately, they don't have enough so back to hammering again. A week later I have an appointment with my oncologist he states biopsy seems to look fine and on we go. WAIT .....Two years later around the same time of the year same symptoms. I truly feel like God is knocking on my door giving me signs . I am back up at the emergency room again with stomach pain. Again the emergency physician states the stomach is fine but you have a lesion on the sacral near the spinal cord. This time I asked the radiologist who performed the biopsy previous if this was linked to the first lesion from two years ago on my right hip. His response was he was not sure. Probably because HE DIDN'T TAKE ENOUGH SAMPLE!!!! x2. We took up his negligence with an attorney and the oncologist but the radiologist was tied to high profile attorney and we would have never won against the oncologist. Basically my oncologist never properly ordered a new biopsy to completed shortly after and testing was never done. I don't hold any remorse. I am still here . I completed five rounds of taxotere and radiation to my pelvis. In 2011 my husband was listening to local news and heard of new procedure being done for bone lesions. Dr Prologo at University of Cleveland (he now works at Emery University) he is an Interventional Radiologist performs Cryogenic Ablation of Bone Lesion. Dr. Prologo removed both of lesions in my iliac crest and sacral. I have been NED for 10 years!!!!
I truly hope my story reaches someone newly diagnosed to let them know there not alone. There are so many of us that are "thrivers" who have passed the 3 year mark . We have challenges from treatments but we refuse to let it get the best of us because we are so much stronger than the beast. MBC needs more funding and it needs to plastered like Susan G Komen, Making Strides...... Stick It to 2 Stage 4 ... When We Face the Worst That Can Happen in Any Situation We Grow When Circumstance Are at Their Worst, We Find Our Best-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
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