Cecile Nunley Breast Cancer Survivor Story Breast Cancer Survivor My Personal Story I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer on April 27, 2012 in Sacramento, California. Writing that sentence is very hard for me as when I was first diagnosed, they don't tell you what stage you are. The first thing that happens is you get the news and then you spend another month getting tests to determine the exact location and size of the cancer. A slight irony for me was that my birthday is May 9 so for the next few weeks as I would go for the various tests and for each they would ask me to verify my birthday to be sure they were running the appropriate tests and there was not a mix up. Each time I would tell them my birthday and then they would say Happy Birthday. There was only once that I actually said to the person yeah, I got cancer for my birthday. I was fifty four at the time and to be truthful I did not know very many people close to me who had ever had cancer. I did have one friend who had leukemia and her treatment involved her taking a pill once a day. There were side effects initially that involved terrible cramps in her hands and feet but after that initial period everything appeared to be fine. The worst part of her treatment was that she could not drink because the drug did affect her liver and kidneys. After all the tests, the meeting with the cancer surgeon was next. Of course I had my sister and my best friend go with me to the appointment, but prior to going we looked up the surgeon on the internet to get some background on him as well as my hospital. Now we were all women in our fifties and he looked about 18 to us but his resume was rock solid. We prepared as many questions as we could think of and went to the appt. The news was stage 2B at first and of course as a standard we had already decided on a second opinion. For the second opinion we decided on San Francisco and made the trek there a few weeks later. I must admit gathering all the data for SF was involved but their service is great. I made the decision to stay in Sacramento 1
as the distance to SF was a bit too far knowing that as I was probably going to be weaker through the treatment, adding the stress of travel did not seem reasonable. The diagnosis actually turned out to be the same anyway with stage 2B breast cancer. The treatment course for me was chemotherapy first, followed by surgery and last was radiation. The chemotherapy recommendation also came with a recommendation of a port-a-cat to receive the infusion. It s a device inserted under the skin where the nurses can easily insert the IV and a tube from there goes directly into your heart. This was very scary for me and at the intake room when the nurse explained the process; I again freaked out and started crying. She waited a bit for my friend Leigh to calm me down and then she returned to complete the intake and get all the forms signed. After that process my son came out to stay a week and take me through the first cycle of chemo. He actually organized my house so that it was a little easier to take care of things and keep things clean. He also held a garage sale to get rid of the clutter. He was a rock as he accompanied me to the chemo doctor's nurse, who explained what would happen and that I would have to give myself a shot every day for a week after each infusion. He also explained what would happen to me after each infusion and what symptoms to look out for, as well as what medicine to take to combat any side effects. Going for the first infusion center was unnerving and all the fears were difficult to keep in check. Even with the explanation I still watched everything that was going on, not knowing exactly what to expect. Again the first step was to identify yourself with name and date of birth, then weigh yourself. Next, recalculate the dose to be sure its correct, and have a second nurse verify your name and date of birth. The insertion of the IV still had me very nervous and was a bit more painful than I expected. Once that was in however the next steps became routine. First the anti-allergy, antinausea med, then the first chemo drug which turned your urine orange or red, then the second chemo drug which made you sleepy and took over an hour to administer. After the infusion we went for lunch at a local restaurant this also became a routine. The routine helped me face the treatment, as it was comforting and something I could count on and know what was going to happen. 2
The chemotherapy was administered every two weeks and it was important that I not be sick so that I could continue to receive treatment without any delays. I wanted to get the treatment over as soon as possible. The one problem was, that I did not have any family that was close by and only one friend who could help. I always had someone go with me to the treatments but usually they had to fly to get to me and stay for a couple of days to a week. This presented its own challenges as in-between the visits I had to clean the sheets etc. This I could do just prior to the worst part of the side effects. Sometimes the visits felt like I was entertaining guests which was something I tried not to do but at the same time it made me feel like things were normal. Having a different person each treatment was not the best because it meant explaining things all over to everyone who came by. It also felt more like I was doing it by myself because the entire experience I was the only one there throughout. My sister actually described it as getting on a nightmare bus. Each of them were able to get off the bus each week but I had to stay on the bus. My cancer was initially detected by me noticing a lump but not thinking too much about it as there had been previous false alarms. This time I went to my doctor for my annual checkup and mentioned the lump. She examined the lump and said that it moved around which was a good sign and sent me to get a mammogram. At the mammogram they also did an ultrasound and called in the radiologist. The next radiologist s review suggested that we do a biopsy of the lump and also two lymph nodes at they appeared to be swollen as well. I was a little stunned with this and did not know what to think but thought it best to pay attention and maybe let my children and friends know what the possibility was of this process. I decided to let my kids know of the biopsy, by telling them face to face rather than over the phone. They both lived on the east coast so I had to fly out to New York. Of course I needed a good excuse to fly out there so I said I had some free time and me and my best friend would fly out. I scheduled the flight right after the biopsy which is a very unusual story in itself but looking back I was glad that I made the trip to tell my daughter at least about the biopsy. It helped her be better prepared for the news when it came. My son was not able to make the trip to New York so he did not 3
know of the biopsy and when the news of the cancer came I did have to tell him over the phone and it was devastating to him. My recommendation: give the news about the test first, that way everybody is at least somewhat prepared and can handle the news much better. There is no history of breast cancer or any cancer in my family, my sister seems to think that our grandmother at the end of life may have had breast cancer. If so it was very shortly before she passed away. Not saying this does not count but truly we do not have a history of any cancer in our family, heart disease, yes but not cancer. Ironically however my brother was diagnosed about a month before me with prostate cancer. One of the items when you are first diagnosed with cancer especially if no one you know really has cancer, is you need information to make a decision fast. That is probably the hardest part and not even knowing what questions to ask. One of the items I found helpful when I went for my second opinion in San Francisco, was they offered to have a college graduate who was going on to medical school accompany me, my sister and my friend to the appointment with the doctor. They recorded the visit as well as noted my questions ahead of time and when we were there she would make sure all of my questions got answered as well as had a recording of the appt. This was very helpful as with the first appt. my sister and friend said that the Dr. indicated that I was a stage 3 and I remember him saying stage 2B. It may have been that I was optimistic or heard what I wanted to hear but that is what I remember and also what I told the kids on the phone later. The Dr. from the second opinion said stage 2B as well even though after the surgery the final diagnosis was stage 3. This is part of the reason that it is so hard for me to admit what stage I was when I started this essay. Having a recording of your visit can go a long way in making sure you hear what is said and no family drama over any disagreements. San Francisco also provided DVD's of breast cancer info to help with awareness and gave the information out so it could help with asking questions when you met with your doctor. I liked that part of it. The biggest obstacle I faced was being single and my sole support is my fear of how was work going to be affected? Would I have to be off for long periods and what would I do if my sick leave ran out? How would I support myself and would I have appropriate medical coverage? If I did need intensive care at home who would provide it? As I said the kids lived on 4
the east coast and asking them to abandon their lives was not something I would have considered or wanted. I do believe that they would have done it but I would not have wanted them too. My support then was on my brothers and sisters, children and friends. Between all of them I pieced together my support. 8 cycles of chemo and each of them took one of the cycles. My son, whom I mentioned him above, was the biggest unknown, second was to be my best friend but she ended up with a cold and I was not to be around sick people so she sent her daughter instead who was great. Next was my daughter, then another friend, my sister, my oldest brother, then my second brother. For the last cycle it was to be my sister but I opted to go in alone as by that time there were some nasty side effects. But I was so happy that it was my last chemo treatment and also because of the nasty side effects my Dr. decided to decrease the dose, which I was about to ask or beg her to do anyway. That was one of the best days of my life just to be happy that maybe the pain would not be so bad. Piecing together the help and support is one of the more challenging items and I suppose doing that early is the best way to tackle it. If I would give any message to someone it would be early detection first as we should all be educated on our health. Second, give your family the news about the tests for cancer before you have to give them the news that you have cancer. It is much easier on them and on you. Third, would be that as soon as you get the news plan your support up front and hopefully one member of the family or friends can give you a set up for your home that makes you comfortable. You will spend a good portion of your time at home so it is good to be in a place that makes you feel good. Lastly, and this is critical you have to trust your team of care. By this I mean the medical team that is taking care of you. UC Davis was great and when we looked them up, they were listed as one of the top cancer treatment centers in the country. I am very grateful for all of the support and care that I received from them. Early detection leads to survival Save a life and make a donation at komensacramento.org 5