Diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 29

February 18th, 2012

I had the pleasure of interviewing Julie, a 30 year old breast cancer survivor, Passion Party Consultant, Breast Cancer Action Nova Scotia Board Director, advocacy committee member, firm supporter of YACC (Young Adult Cancer Canada) and jack of all trades. As young women, we think we’re invincible and things such as breast cancer can’t touch us. Julie found a lump in her breast when she was 28, and was officially diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 29.

Here’s her story.

Julie has lived in Nova Scotia all her life. She’s Fall River born and raised, and is happily married with a two-year old son named Archer. After Archer was born she breastfeed him until he was about 4 months old and stopped so she could go on painkillers for her back. Julie was in a car accident in 2008 and she’s had back and neck issues since then.

A month after she stopped breastfeeding, she discovered a golf ball sized lump on her right breast. She couldn’t believe it at first and immediately thought she was too young for breast cancer. She assumed it was mastitis, which is an inflammation of the breast tissue that can happen when you’re lactating. It was very sore, but she waited a month and saw a doctor in April, who recommended a mammogram. She had just turned 29 at the time. She had to wait until August 30th to get a mammogram, followed by an ultrasound and a biopsy. She got the dreaded call on September 13, 2010.

I’ve interviewed survivors before, and they always, always remember the date (and sometimes the exact time) they received the news. No one forgets when they receive the news that would change their lives forever. Julie remembers hearing “ductal carcinoma.” It was a fairly large lump (9cm by 9cm). She was shocked. She didn’t even know she could get breast cancer at her age. She knew it happened, but she thought it was more of “a freak thing, a mythical thing that happens once in a blue moon” or something that happens to other people, but not necessarily yourself. By involving herself with support groups, she realized the abundance of young people with cancer.

Unlike most patients, she went to different doctors for opinions. The first doctor recommended a mastectomy. The second doctor recommended chemotherapy first, to keep cancer from spreading. As Julie put it simply, “It’s not the tumor in the breast that kills you – it’s where it goes.”

Julie immediately started chemotherapy. By then, the tumor had grown 3cm more in a month to 12cm by 12cm at this point. It was a very aggressive type of cancer.

Julie was lucky in a way because chemotherapy didn’t affect her as harshly as it could have. She had a good friend that provided her with a glutathione supplement, which she attributes to helping quite a bit. She lost her hair in the “first batch” of chemotherapy (three treatments) and she lost her eyebrows/eyelashes in the second batch. The tumor shrunk to 4cm by 3cm by 2cm, however, Julie states that by the time they take out the tumor and work out the margins (usually 1 inch), there wouldn’t have been much breast left. She decided on a mastectomy.

Julie had her entire right breast removed, and then she started on radiation treatments right after. Then she was told she had to go on the hormone therapy, Tamoxifen, for five years, and after doing her research and talking to other doctors, she disagreed. She wanted to continue on with her life, and eventually she wanted more kids. Women must avoid getting pregnant when they are on Tamoxifen. There was also side effects of hot and cold flashes, and increased risk of uterine cancer. She decided the benefits were not worth the risks.

Julie was interested in reconstruction for her breast right away. However, when she first signed up and showed interest in January 2011 they told her it would be a two-year wait until she had the surgery. But in August 2011 they told her it would be another two to three years before she would even get called for a consultation. She was not prepared to wait two years to get her life started again, and get her body back to normal. Imagine being a young woman in a fresh marriage with an infant, having to deal with a mastectomy and body issues that arise from that. She started to fight for reconstructive surgery, by switching doctors, going on news, radio, and starting a Facebook group. She started making waves, and got people to talk about the wait times women had to go through to get their self esteem and femininity back.

Julie states she was incredibly lucky to have such a supportive team in her life. She had her husband throughout the entire experience, and her family as well. Her oldest sister would drive her to the hospital for chemotherapy treatments, while her middle sister would watch her son, and then at night, her parents would watch her son until she was ready to take him back, so she could rest for a bit after her treatments. Can you imagine going through cancer with an infant? It’s already hard and stressful enough to deal with having a new baby to take care of and adjust to, but Julie had cancer treatments and end of life thoughts and other concerns on top of Archer’s birth.

Julie states Archer was the one who was most impacted by this experience, other than herself. Because Julie went through a lot of treatments and needed to recover, he was looked after by a lot of other people. He still shows signs of being afraid to be away from her and is very attached to his Mom. He gets very fear stricken when she leaves him at day care, for example, but it’s slowly getting better. Although he’s very young, he is very observant and is aware of what’s going on to a point. Once Julie wore a prosthesis bra and went to pick up Archer: he looked inquisitively at her chest, pulled down her shirt on the right side, saw the breast wasn’t there, and almost shrugged, as if to say, “Oh, it’s still not there.”

Julie became involved with support groups last year. She found out about the Pink Panthers Breast Cancer Support Group offered through BCANS, and discovered YACC (Young Adult Cancer Canada) for young adults with cancer ages 18 to 39 and attended their “Retreat Yourself Conference” in Newfoundland in April 2011. At the YACC Conference held in November 2011 she met several other young women who had breast cancer and young children from ages four months to one-year old. Julie speaks very fondly of YACC and states that they address issues young adults with cancer have that older adults necessary don’t share, such as trying to raise a baby and dealing with cancer at the same time. As well, she states that self image can be a lot more significant when you’re younger as people are just starting careers, marriages, and even trying to find Mr.Right. It can all be complicated when you’re going through cancer treatments.

Julie is very active in the community, and gives back. When she first found out she had cancer, she cut off 20 inches of her hair and sent it off to Pantene to be made into a wig. She started up the first young adult support group in Nova Scotia for cancer patients. She became a lot more sensitive to issues around cancer and saw how many things needed to be adjusted in health care. She didn’t realize how bad breast reconstruction issues were in Nova Scotia until she herself was impacted by it.

Julie is also a fantastic artist, and did a series of paintings to represent her experience with her breast cancer. The photos do not do these paintings justice. The first one is titled, “The News,” where the young woman in the painting first got the diagnosis of breast cancer. The second painting is titled, “The Treatment,” representing what she had to go through with the health care system: mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. The third painting is titled, “The New Me,” where it shows the young woman after the mastectomy. The last painting of the series is titled, “The Hope,” where the young woman has a spring in her step and looking forward, with both breasts once again, after reconstruction surgery.

In terms of personal life, she lost some friendships. She states that traumatic experiences bring out the true self in people. They may say they’ll support you or be there, but once it hits the fan, they seem to disappear. She says, “You go through a traumatic life experience and that’s when you realize who deserves to be in your life, and who you should let go.”

As much as Julie tries to keep busy and involve herself in support groups, reoccurrence is always on her mind. She fears a different type of breast cancer or different type of cancer altogether. To prevent this as much as she can, she made some lifestyle changes: she tries to be more active, to eat better, and to exercise more. She emphasizes that exercise seems to have more impact than people realize.

Lastly, Julie gives some useful advice. If you’re a young adult who has been diagnosed with cancer, or have been impacted by cancer in any way (for example, a family member), find any means of support to help you on your journey. Some people may not like support groups, but there are always other options than traditional support groups, such as forums, websites, and coffee meets. As well, it’s important to do your research, and fight for what you want, because no one else is going to fight for you. If Julie hadn’t started making herself heard, she would still be waiting for new breasts. She is scheduled for reconstructive surgery on February 22, 2012!

Author, Jessie Dain Kang

Posted in Articles, Reconstruction, Support, Young Women |

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Diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 29

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