A SURVIVOR'S STORY

by Paula Pecenka

It was July 6, 2005 and the biopsy results were in. Everyone had assured me that I had nothing to worry about; turns out they were wrong. There I was sitting in the doctor’s office with my mother when I was told the news: I had breast cancer at age 25. I didn’t even know that this could happen to a young person like me. I didn’t know what to do. From the get-go I knew that this was going to be a rough road. But in the end I knew I was not going anywhere. I still had too much to accomplish in my life. My son was 2 years old. I wanted to see him grow up and live his life.

My husband and I had just started our life together. All these thoughts kept going through my mind for the first month. I had a lumpectomy one week after the diagnosis. The twenty strenuous weeks of chemo started one month after surgery. I always kept positive no matter how bad it got.

For example, I started to lose my hair so my sister gave me a Mohawk. I couldn’t go out so my friends would come over to sit with me through the tired days. My husband was always there for me and, of course, always took good care of our son. I had such a good support group, family, friends and work family. My mom and dad were always there for me. My sister came and lived with me for three months.

While she was there, she helped take care of my family and cleaned my house. I also had a great job. Allen Home Health Services is the best place to work. I have never had supervisors that cared so much about their employees. I couldn’t have gotten through this period of my life without my 50 workmothers.

After chemo was finished, I discovered another lump in the same breast in December of 2005. I felt that the only way I would feel safe would be to have a bilateral mastectomy. That was the best decision I could have made. I have since had a total breast reconstruction and am doing great. I appreciate life so much. I don’t regret any decisions that I have made.

In February of 2006 I went to the Young Survivor Breast Cancer Conference in Denver, CO. It was a three day conference with over 400 young survivors attending. There were many workshops for us to attend. I went to the “fertilization after chemotherapy workshop”, the “nutrition workshop”, and many others. I met people from all over the country. It was great! I was not able to attend in 2007 but would love to go in 2008.

The conference usually changes locations every year. Having cancer is a lot to cope with at 25 or any other age - losing your hair, feeling tired all the time, stomach upsets and low blood counts. If I could tell all the young people in the world one thing it would be “don’t give up”. You need to do everything in your power to keep on living. My faith was also a big part of my recuperation and recovery. God has always been there for me. He helps me be strong for my family. It has now been 2+ years since my diagnosis.

My son is now 4 and is in preschool. My husband and I just celebrated our 6 year anniversary. Everything is going great. I still think about cancer going into the future but I know that I am strong and will be able to handle anything. I would also like to encourage people to talk and be open about your experiences – good or bad. I believe that we need to get more young survivors involved in the Cedar Valley area. It would have been very helpful to me if I had had another survivor to talk with which is why I would like to be there for someone else in need of support.

​

Read Full Newsletter