A Breast Cancer Survivor Story

My name is Christine McCummins, I am 58 years old, and I am a breast cancer survivor. I am married to a wonderful man, Bob, and have been for 35 years. We have 3 beautiful daughters, Katie, Shannon, and Brenna. We also have an amazing son-in-law Brandon, and a grandson Brady, with a second grandson on the way.

I have an amazing family of siblings, in-laws, nieces, and a nephew, aunts and an uncle, great nieces and great nephews. All who love me very much.

I also have a God who is bigger than cancer!

This is the story of my cancer journey; a story of self-detection, education, and fear. But it is also a story of my family and my faith, and a God who takes away our fear.

In January of 2011 my youngest daughter, Brenna, suffered an eye injury while playing soccer, and about that time I started feeling some pain around a small lump high up on my left breast. I knew this pain was different, new, and I was concerned.

But of course, as a mom I put my concerns on the back burner.

While I sought treatment for my daughter. It took about two months of doctor’s appointments for her before I could focus on me.

I finally mentioned something to my husband and made a doctor’s appointment. My husband was scheduled to go out to sea for five weeks so my OBGYN, Dr. Trus, squeezed me in.

That was March 22, 2011, the day after my middle daughter, Shannon’s, 16th birthday. Dr. Trus did not think my small lump was cause for concern, but because of my concerns she scheduled a mammogram and an ultrasound for the next day.

On March 23, 2011 I went to Compass Imaging in Gulfport for the mammogram. They read the report very quickly, but they did not see anything. We then proceeded with the ultrasound a few hours later. My husband went back with me for the ultrasound. The tech who performed the ultrasound said that the lump did not have a “tumor signature” and asked if I had been in a car accident. The lump was on the right side of my left breast, right where the car seatbelt would sit. I told him that I had not been in an accident, so he suggested a biopsy, which we did right then.

The next day, March 24, 2011, I received a phone call from Dr. Trus asking me to come in for a recap of everything. At the time I was president of Gulf Coast United Football Club and we were preparing for our spring tournament that weekend. I was super busy buying stuff at Sam’s and getting ready for registration that evening, but I managed to sneak away without anyone knowing to go to the appointment. My husband went with me.

Dr. Trus walked in and quickly gave me a hug…I knew it was bad news! I was in shock! I was only 46! My oldest daughter, Katie, was only a senior in high school, Shannon was 16, and Brenna was 14! How doesthis happen? I was terrified! No one wants to hear the word CANCER.

I told my husband that I did not want anyone to know until I could process everything so we decided to wait until the tournament was over. I knew I had to go on with the scheduled events, so I stuffed that information into a little box and worked the whole weekend, against my husband’s wishes! But I had to do that for me. I knew after that nothing would be the same.

The hardest part of the cancer diagnosis came on Sunday after the tournament was over. We had to tell our daughters, my aunt and uncle who were living with us at the time, and the rest of the family, that I had breast cancer. I was not looking forward to that. I was scared enough but seeing the fear on the faces on my loved ones was so hard! I will never forget those images! Especially the look on my husband’s face. We are high school sweethearts and best friends. The fear and shock on his face was hard to watch.

We spent the next 5 weeks seeing different doctors. Since my husband didn’t go out to sea, he was able to focus on me and go with me to lots of different types of doctors. We did our research, asked questions, and came up with a treatment plan. I decided to have a lumpectomy. They removed the mass and one lymph node. After testing, it was determined that I had stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, estrogen and progesterone positive. Unfortunately, after testing it was also determined that they did not get a clean margin on one side of the mass so a week later I went back in for surgery.

Several things happened next in quick succession. Because I was only stage 1, I had to determine if chemo was the right option for me. My oncologist, Dr. Wall, suggested a test called a 21-gene assay. This test shows the mortality rates based on a study of DNA for 1,000 women. The different types of treatments were logged, and life expectancies were measured based on the selected treatment options on a score of 1-100. I think this test also predicts reoccurrence rates. I took this test and when we got the results back my number was 22 out of 100 (how my husband remembers that number I have no idea. But like I said he is a numbers guy!). This number unfortunately, did not have any data could provide definitive answers on the benefits of chemo. The decision was now up to me. I had to decide whether to have chemo or not! How does one make that decision?

We left the next day for a family vacation with some friends to Walt Disney World. We spent the next week having fun with our kids and our friends. We were not allowed to say “cancer”! We just had the best time. The family to this day would tell you that it was one of the best vacations we ever took!

On the last day, we did break our rule because a decision had to be made. I had to let Dr. Wall know my decision. In my mind, the decision was already made. I wanted to do the chemo. I didn’t want to take the chance of missing out on our next great family trip! My husband on the other hand did not want me to go through chemo, and he had science and numbers to back it up! He is a math guy…an engineer…and he had calculated everything! He knew my percentages of reoccurrence with and without chemo, and cancer is all about percentages. I trusted my husband and made the decision to skip chemo and go with a lumpectomy and radiation instead. I had 6 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week.

That was hard enough. I can not imagine what chemo would have been like. The one thing that I told Dr. Wall was that I am good at making decisions with the information I have at the time, but I have never had to make a life or death decision before. What if after some time I regretted my choice? What options did I have? She said that I could always choose to have chemo. With that little nugget of information, I moved forward with the plan. The next part of the treatment plan was to have a complete hysterectomy and an oophorectomy, which I did several month later. I was also prescribed tamoxifen for 5 years, which was later changed to 10 years.

One other thing I decided to do was to take the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene test. I have 3 daughters and 4 nieces who would benefit from knowing this information. I do not carry the gene, so it is not hereditary!

My advice for women, all women who have just been diagnosed, and those who may never be diagnosed, is to be your own best advocate! Know your body. Do monthly self-breast exams. Go to the doctor. Ask questions, do not be afraid of asking. And if you do not get a satisfactory answer, get a second opinion.

For those women who do get a cancer diagnoses please reach out to someone who has been there: a friend, a colleague, or a support group. Do not go through it alone. It is a very scary time and you will need the support. Cancer is a whole different world. It is full of terms and words and ideas, a whole language really, that you don’t speak until you have no other choice! Find someone to help you with that and to be there to share your fears and concerns.

My second bit of advice is to always bring someone with you to your doctor’s appointment to take notes. You will not hear everything, and what you do hear you will not remember. It is kind of like being in shock. I know I would sit there and feel like everyone was talking at me, but I never heard a word. My husband went to every appointment, apart from one, and he brought his iPad and took notes. The appointment he did not go to, my daughter Shannon went in his place and took notes.

My third bit of advice is to lean on God, your faith community, and your family and friends. We had just joined the Catholic Church about a year before I was diagnosed. I took the time to learn how to pray the Rosary and I prayed it every morning on the way to radiation, during treatment, and on the way to daily Mass. I attended daily Mass every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for 6 weeks. It quickly became the highlight of my day. I had my whole faith community, family, and friends praying for me every day. I know I would not have had the grace, nor the strength, to get through everything without my faith. It is recorded 365 times in the bible “Do not be afraid”. Cancer leaves you full of fear, but God takes that fear away. I leaned heavily into my faith and I found a peace that would not have been possible without God. I had a certainty that no matter what I was going to be ok, one way or the other. I then knew what I needed to pray for; I prayed that if I did not make it my family would be ok too, that they would lean on God for strength.

My fourth bit of advice is to ask questions, lots of questions. Do not let fear force you into making quick decisions. Do your research, know your options! Cancer is a game of percentages, know yours. Be your own advocate. Family and friends are there to support you. Let them. I wish I had known that it is ok to ask for help, and to accept help.

As women, as moms, we think we must be superhuman. We think we must do it all, be it all, manage it all, and do it with a smile on our face. Get that notation out of your head. Learn from me and realize that we honor our friends and family who want to help. Honor them by graciously accepting help.

They love us and they want to help. They can not go through the treatment for us, but they can be there to support us. And that is all they want to do. So, accept the help and show honor to those who love you.

I mentioned earlier that I knew nothing would ever be the same. And I was right, nothing is the same.My faith is stronger, and my family is stronger. I try to find joy in everything. I have a sign above my computer that says, “Joy must be cultivated but negativity is contagious. - Be joyful!!” Life is beautiful, so make the most of that beautiful life, no matter what trials come your way.