Susan Tancock never expected it to happen.
She was 45 years old, years younger than the national average, and had no family history of breast cancer. She had taken care of herself when she was younger, placing herself into the disease's low-risk category, and had scheduled her mammogram each year for a decade.
Yet her eleventh checkup aroused suspicion. Tancock said her intuition told her something was wrong, which she described as "that 'worst-day-of-your-life' kind of feeling," but she remained hopeful.
After a biopsy two summers ago, she received the phone call from her doctor she had been dreading.
"The hardest part of it all was that call," she said. "Your heart just stops."
PAIN AND PRIORITIES
Tancock, professor of elementary education, underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and six weeks of radiation treatments between mid-August 2007 and May 2008. Each treatment brought unpleasant side effects, like nausea and neuropathy - a painful tingling or numbing of the feet - and Tancock had to adjust.
"I didn't understand how it felt to be sick," she said. "I knew what it felt like to hurt, like when your foot hurts, but not sick like you can't eat. I used to say it was a good day if I could walk and eat."
Now cancer-free, she said the treatment process was not only physically draining but emotionally worrisome. Tancock, who had adopted two children from China, said she often felt grateful her husband could take care of 5-year-old Calla and 1-year-old Zanna when she was unable to make a simple snack for them.
"It's hard with little kids because they don't understand what's going on," she said. "It was so difficult for us to get them, and the idea of my husband raising the kids without me was too horrible."
Facing the concept of not being there for her family was completely life-changing, Tancock said, so she traded in her previous workaholic days for more time with her husband and daughters.
Sheryl Proctor, university supervisor for student teachers, was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer, and is currently undergoing 33 days of radiation treatment. Living with breast cancer forced Proctor to also examine her priorities. She takes a nap if she feels like she needs one, leaves evenings on her calendar open for family time and doesn't hesitate to say "no" to others' requests, she said.
"It taught me patience, taught me to live a slower life and have appreciation for everyone around me," Proctor said. "Accepting help, too. I am a pretty independent person, and I'm not used to being a patient, so to speak, but I learned that they [people helping] need it as much as I do. They need to feel needed."
NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which was founded in 1985 as a week of public education through pamphlet distribution and testimony to a U.S. Congressional committee about the importance of mammograms. By 2008, the event had expanded to its current month-long duration and joined efforts with 14 health-related organizations, according to its official Web site at nbcam.org.
According to the American Cancer Society's Web site, more than 184,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Almost 2,000 of those Americans will be men.
Proctor said she supports the event because it promotes early detection.
"It means hope for awareness," she said. "If one more woman goes to get a mammogram, then we've done our job ... Most women don't want to get one because they're scared of bad news, but I think every woman has the strength to find out and battle it."
PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION ARE KEY
Although the cause of breast cancer remains unknown, scientists have found certain factors that increase the risk of developing the disease, including genetic factors like gender, race and age. Lifestyle factors, such as birth control use, high alcohol consumption and lack of exercise, also play a role in the growth of breast cancer.
"Doctors know so much about it now, it's actually so treatable," Tancock said. "It's more of a chronic disease, not the end of your life. It's more of the question of 'How are you going to manage this?'"
Twenty-somethings can start living a healthy lifestyle and reduce their breast cancer risk by exercising at least 45 minutes a day five days a week and limiting their alcohol intake. According to the ACS Web site, women who drink two to five alcoholic drinks a day increase their chances of getting breast cancer by 50 percent.
Proctor's suggestion for students is to talk to relatives about any family members who have had breast cancer. Because having a close family member who has been diagnosed with breast cancer can double the risk of being diagnosed yourself, it would be beneficial to visit your doctor for a mammogram in the next few years. If your mother, aunt, grandmother or other relative has not been examined recently, encourage them to get a mammogram, she said.
Early detection is crucial to treating breast cancer and defeating it, Proctor said.
"You're a survivor for decades," she said. "It's a hopeful illness in that way."
Guidelines to early preventionAges 20-39Clinical breast examination every three yearsMonthly breast self-examinationAges 40 and olderAnnual mammogramAnnual clinical breast examinationMonthly breast self-examination
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