Tracey Cargill-Smith, Survivor, POQC member
I never thought two days before my birthday on January 13, 2020, I would be diagnosed with breast cancer. Normally, a 50th birthday is a milestone to celebrate; but instead, I spent it trying to understand why and how I got breast cancer. I always ate healthy and walked one or two miles a day. No one else in my family had breast cancer. Breast cancer never crossed my mind. After I processed the fact I had cancer, I leaned into a mindset of doing whatever it might take to beat this disease. Beating it was my goal. Whatever it took — chemo, radiation, surgeries — I had to do whatever it took to make sure I reached my end result, which was being a Survivor.
After feeling a lump in my armpit, I scheduled an appointment with my OB/GYN. The OB/GYN doctor sent me in for a 3D mammogram that was inconclusive, which prompted a referral to a cancer surgeon. A week later the surgeon scheduled me for an ultrasound, and two weeks after that, a biopsy. On Monday, January 13, 2020, I received a call from the surgeon telling me to come in to discuss my biopsy results. I knew exactly what the surgeon was going to say.
I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It was – IS a long journey, between diagnosis and survivorship. I underwent AC and Taxol chemotherapy rounds, mastectomy with lymph nodes removed, and six weeks of radiation treatments. Admittingly, I was thinking I would have my mastectomy, my chemo/radiation treatments and reconstruction within a year. Due to COVID-19, my original plan was disrupted. The order of treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, reconstruction) was changed. The delays in the schedules were inevitable. I was told my treatment plan could realistically take as long as two years due to healing time in-between treatments and surgeries. In total, I have had five surgeries, including my mastectomy, extensions, and reconstruction. It wasn’t an easy process for me, but my cancer care team and doctors explained and answered all my questions thoroughly and treated me with the utmost respect.
A few of the biggest hurdles I am facing with breast cancer post-treatment are fatigue, neuropathy, and chemo brain. I am currently still recovering and will have to learn how to adjust to a life of a breast cancer Survivor. I am grateful for every good day, always appreciating life. My whole process, my journey, was not easy. But along the way, I appreciate the care I received. I like my physicians and cancer care team having given me every treatment option possible. They didn’t try to introduce facts one by one, little by little. They provided the entirety of what to expect by answering my questions thoroughly. Cancer is an overall horrible thing that everyone wishes to fight, destroy, and win the battle. Being involved in MOQC’s Patient and Caregiver Council (POQC), I believe it will make an impact helping communities focus on the challenges Cancer Patients and Survivors face. In my opinion, POQC is a true advocate for the Cancer community. Together with POQC, I will continue contributing to achieving better quality of life for Cancer Patients.