›› Fearless Females: Sue Russell

On July 18, 2007, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in my right breast. I had discovered the lump while performing a self breast exam. The tumor was small with no lymph node involvement, although the Elston score was an 8 out of 9 (which is not good). I felt lucky except for one problem – I was told I had triple negative breast cancer which is very rare (less than 15% of women have it) and aggressive. My doctor felt that because I had caught it early there was no need for a mastectomy or radiation. A lumpectomy and chemo should do the trick! After two lumpectomies without clear margins, I insisted on a bi-lateral mastectomy. In October 2007, after several surgeries, I began eight rounds of chemo (A/C and Taxol). You become very quickly humbled when you lose every ounce of hair on your body and ache from head to toe with fever. Still, life doesn’t wait. We must still carry on with our families, church, and our jobs. I was very blessed to have a lot of support from everyone in my world. It was amazing to be part of the outpouring of love and compassion!

In January of 2009, I went for my one year follow up appointment. I mentioned during this appointment that I felt a little “bb” exactly where the scar was from the original tumor, assuming it was just scar tissue. I never thought that it would return as I was told the chances for recurrence are low once you have a bi-lateral mastectomy and chemo. Sure enough, there is was again! When you have a mastectomy, some of the breast tissue will always remain. In addition, I learned that chemo only kills the cancerous cells, not the pre-cancerous ones. In hindsight, radiation should have been done right after chemo since radiation kills both pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. I repeatedly asked about radiation and should have been more persistent. I recently finished 33 radiation treatments in May of 2009. It was MUCH easier for me than chemo. The biggest side effect was the exhaustion. I’m in a profession that allows me to rest during sporadic parts of the day which was helpful.

I now embrace life even more, appreciating every second on this Earth. I continue to remain optimistic, take time to smell the roses, laugh and exercise more as well as eat even healthier. I give back to the community and church. Instead of leaving my mark on the world when I’m older and retired, there’s no time to waste! One of my friends recently said to me that the reason this has happened to me is because
God knows that 99% of other people in this world couldn’t handle it! We are not only going to survive but also thrive!