Keeping Up with Kathleen
Retired molecular biologist turned savvy seamstress turned breast cancer survivor – and there you have it. Kathleen’s life in a nutshell.
Kathleen enjoyed a career in molecular biology where she researched American chestnut trees with a team of other biologists. The trees were once abundant in the Appalachian Mountains. Kathleen was able to study how the Asian chestnut trees could tolerate fungus and American chestnut trees couldn’t, by performing genetic tests on the trees. Soon after her retirement she traded her lab tools for a sewing box, and you can now find Kathleen enjoying retirement in southeastern North Carolina.
Kathleen has no breast cancer history in her family – only melanoma, with which she was diagnosed over a decade ago. She was diligent in receiving physicals, mammograms showed up normal time after time, and she had no reason to expect anything surrounding breast cancer. Her tumor hadn’t been suspected at any prior visits, because traditional 2D mammograms make it difficult to read dense breast tissue. In July 2019, Kathleen was sure she felt a lump in her left breast. After her testing turned up normal, Kathleen was told that “tumors can’t grow that fast,” and she was fine. Kathleen disagreed in her heart.
She refrained from being insistent about the lump she felt simply because she had no family history and no reason to be suspicious. By the time October 2019 rolled around, she could visibly see a lump, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She got a radiologist, had a 3D mammogram and ultrasound done, and finally was sent for a biopsy. Her tumor was solid, and unsuspecting Kathleen was told she has breast cancer. She ended up receiving a mastectomy and radiation, which she completed earlier this year in February 2020. She didn’t receive chemotherapy because she had an Oncotype DX genomic test done – a test that analyzes the chance of cancer returning. She was found likely to benefit from radiation, and that she did.
In the back of her mind, Kathleen wondered if the melanoma she suffered from played a role in her breast cancer diagnosis. She endured surgery for melanoma (and has the scars to prove it) and even had a piece of skin disguising as a fungal infection that was really melanoma. She didn’t know the risk of melanoma and breast cancer, and neither did a group of women she had conversations with that were also diagnosed with melanoma and breast cancer. After speaking with other women through casual conversation about her experience, she realized she wasn’t alone. The group of women she found who suffered from melanoma and breast cancer sent a signal to her brain that there may be a possible connection between the two. Had Kathleen known of the potential risk and higher susceptibility to cancer, she might have been more insistent about that initial lump she felt before her confirmed diagnosis.
Advanced dermatology says that females with melanoma have a 1.4-time greater chance of developing breast cancer. Both breast cancer and melanoma survivors should take early detection and preventive measures to ensure best protection and safety. Self-exams of the skin and breasts along with annual mammograms are recommended for women who have suffered from melanoma and breast cancer, as the risk is reciprocal, too. Women who have breast cancer have a 2.58-time greater chance of developing melanoma. We encourage women to remember to wear their sunscreen, see a doctor with any concerns, and speak up for yourself, always.
`Kathleen’s melanoma treatment and breast cancer treatment has never been enough to get her down, and she was lucky to have a support system behind her to step up when she needed it. During a two-month period when she was receiving Interferon for melanoma (adjuvant therapy), she received meals every day from different people at her doorstep, and to this day, has no clue who organized it.
Kathleen with her red balloons!
During her breast cancer journey, she had a group of four to five women waiting in her surgeon’s office with red balloons – they got the idea from a book, Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg, that they were all reading in their bible study. And for cathartic purposes, Kathleen had a plate smashing party before her breast cancer surgery. Friends from her home in Syracuse, NY mailed plates for her to smash, and countless other friends in the Wilmington area showed up to join in on the fun.
The one thing making her recovery especially hard has been COVID-19. She wishes she could go to more than just a socially distant gathering, but she understands the reasons for taking precautions. Between she, her husband and a few other couples, she has made herself a family comprised of all of them. They enjoy each other’s distant company, dinners together, and porch hangouts. It’s been a saving grace in keeping connected with others.
She also wishes there was better publicity and advocacy for breast cancer programs and services that breast cancer patients might like. With all of the advancements in breast cancer research, she thinks there is room for growth in communication amongst doctors and professionals about programs for patients to enjoy. Even though Kathleen enjoyed participating in the Livestrong program at her local YMCA, it was a friend of hers that just happened to be the one to mention it. She also missed out on some free massages, something she again found out through a friend. In the future, Kathleen just hopes everyone stricken with this life-threatening disease has someone they can trust to tell them about something to enjoy, a safe place.
Teams like us at Going Beyond the Pink hope that we can provide that extra support and resources for survivors like Kathleen just craving something more. We’re glad Kathleen found us and we can help point her in a right direction when she needs it. We’re missing our in-person events more than ever this year, but when it’s safe again, we hope to reassemble with some awesome activities that promote inclusivity and togetherness. While we’re planning our future in the midst of COVID-19, Kathleen will still be sewing away and welcoming fall weather in Wilmington with open arms.