IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME - BUT IT DID

A SURVIVOR STORY BY CHERI NELSON I am sure most people can relate with the phrase, “It won't happen to me.” That was what I thought. I thought cancer is what other people get, not me. December 2020, I was diagnosed with squamous cell skin cancer. When I heard the word “cancer,” everything went blank. I could not comprehend what the nurse was saying after that.

Luckily, all I needed to do was to get the area cut out and keep a careful watch for any other marks that show up on my skin. My thought then was that I had my scare with cancer and there was no way I would get any other kind of cancer. Just a year later, in December 2021, I was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer. I first saw the results on MyChart. That day was the longest day waiting for the doctor to call me back. My son, his wife and daughter were all visiting. I spent the day pretending I wasn't worried or scared because I didn't want to ruin our day of fun. After talking to the doctor later that evening, it really hit me. I had just started going back to school and signed up for a full load for the second semester. I didn't know what to expect. Would I be able to still keep a full load of classes, or would I have to cut back? Would I even be able to finish the semester? I didn't know what approach we were going to do so I didn't know how I would be feeling. It was the “not knowing” that was hardest for me. I wanted to know what was going to happen and how I was going to feel during this. After a lot of thinking I decided it would be best if I cut my class load in half. After several doctor appointments, we finally came up with a plan. Since the tumor was over 2 cm, we started with chemo first. I was so scared to start chemo. I have watched too many movies where someone was fighting cancer and got really sick with chemo. My first appointment with chemo was very long but went pretty smoothly. I was able to Zoom my class time so I could still hear the lectures. I had six rounds of chemo. I felt pretty good until after my fourth round. That one really wiped me out. I was very tired and didn't have any energy. I was not able to make it to school anymore but was able to stay connected with my instructors. I had great instructors that helped me finish my semester from home. On June 10, 2022, I had a double mastectomy with reconstruction. The surgery went well, and I was feeling pretty good about things. Since I was done with chemo, I was started on a medicine called Kadcyla every 3 weeks. After the second dose, my eyesight started to get blurry. For the next 3 days my eyesight kept getting worse. I was able to get in with an eye doctor who told me that the medicine, Kadcyla, was causing this problem. There is only one other reported case of this happening with this medicine. Needless to say, we immediately stopped that medicine and started a different one. I had to wait for the Kadcyla to work itself out and I slowly regained most of my eyesight back. In November 2022, I started radiation. I was starting to feel better and was able to have an exercise routine. Unfortunately, by Thanksgiving time, my health started to slowly decline. I was getting short of breath very easily. I would bring this up to all my doctors when I had appointments, but they would just tell me that I need to give it time. My health kept declining. I was so short of breath that I could no longer walk for more than a couple of minutes. My muscles were sore and getting weaker and my joints were hurting so bad. I had chronic fatigue and headaches all the time. My right breast had gotten hard. My hair was not growing back very well. I pushed my doctors to send me to a specialist. I went from one specialist to another, and no one could figure out what was wrong. I ended up seeing a pulmonologist, a cardiologist, and a neuromuscular specialist. They all ran all sorts of tests,but they could not figure out what was wrong. When I would get up and walk, my oxygen level would go down, but my lungs were fine. My heart, muscles, and nerves were all good also. Still, my health kept deteriorating. I did not think I was going to survive this. I decided to try going to a breast cancer meeting. I was hoping that someone there might have gone through this same thing or at least have some advice. The women at this meeting were very compassionate and supportive. I knew these women were going to become important in my life. Unfortunately, no one there had gone through this, but they were all very helpful. They gave me different ideas to try. During one of our meetings, The Beyond Pink TEAM was brought up and the Pink Ribbon Run. I attended the run even though I could not participate. I loved watching all the people there. It was amazing how so many people came to one place for one reason....to support breast cancer.I decided I wanted to be part of The Beyond Pink TEAM. I didn't know what I would be able to do but I really wanted to be a part of this. After reading Stacy Glascock's story in the beyond Pink TEAM January 2024 quarterly newsletter about “going flat” and breast implant illness, I made an appointment with my surgeon. I had all the symptoms of breast implant illness, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask my surgeon about it. After telling me I had a better chance of winning the lottery than having breast implant illness, he finally agreed agreed that taking the implants out would be a good option for me. On March 22, 2024, I had my implants removed and went flat. I could instantly feel a difference after my surgery. My muscles and joints were not as achy, and I felt like I could breathe a little better. In 2 weeks, I went from walking less than 1,000 steps a day to walking 6,000 steps. I was able to walk through the grocery store instead of riding the motorized cart. For the first time in the last 16 months, I felt hopeful and excited about life. n and women financially while in treatment. Talk to the social worker at your cancer treatment or breast center for assistance in applying, or visit the "financial assistance" page of this website.