Susie could be a walking billboard for mammograms. During her regular OB-GYN visit in July 2000, she mentioned to the doctor that she had just turned 40 and it was time to start having regular mammograms. Susie’s doctor agreed and told her to make an appointment at her leisure. Susie waited a couple of weeks to schedule the appointment; there was no urgency because her clinical breast exam was normal.

A week after the mammogram, Susie had a telephone message from the Breast Clinic. When she returned the call, she learned that additional mammograms were needed. She made an appointment and reluctantly made the trip to Winston again. During the visit, the technician showed her where micro-calcifications had formed on her left breast that were not there on the baseline mammogram she had three years earlier. According to the technician, this was probably okay. Susie should wait six months and come back for another mammogram. After all, nothing except the micro-calcifications showed on the mammogram and no lump could be felt.

The results of this visit were sent to Susie’s family doctor. He called her to come into the office, as he had a very different approach. He recommended that Susie see a surgeon because if there was any chance that it was cancer, she didn’t need to wait six months to find out.

Susie reluctantly made an appointment with a surgeon. She felt like she was wasting time and money. Surely, the Breast Clinic was right — it was nothing. Because the “lump” could not be palpated, Susie's first stop on the day of the biopsy was the Breast Clinic. While her breast was in the mammogram machine, a doctor inserted a wire into her breast. The surgeon would use this wire as a guide. On October 16 Susie had a surgical biopsy and on October 20 she was told that she had ductile invasive carcinoma.

The next week Susie met with a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist. She cried all the way home from Winston. She knew she was surely going to die — she wouldn’t make it until Christmas Eve. Even with her husband by her side, Susie can honestly say that she felt the most “alone” that she had ever felt.

The next week Susie had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. She was very fortunate that the margins were clear, and she had no lymph node involvement. The first week of November, Susie had a port-a-cath inserted and began the first of four chemotherapy treatments. This was the worst period of her life.

Susie felt helpless and alone. She had support from family and friends, but she couldn’t resolve the desperation that she felt.

Susie doesn’t think anyone is ever fully prepared for the side effects of chemotherapy. She wasn’t. She will never forget standing in the shower holding clumps of her hair that had fallen out exactly two weeks after the first chemo treatment. You can hide a bandaged breast, but it’s pretty hard to hide a bald head. Wigs were hot and itchy, so she wore ball caps everywhere except church.

Susie’s last chemo treatment was in January 2001. I finally felt like she might make it through this. She started radiation treatments in February and finished up in April. She started almost every radiation treatment silently reciting Philippians 4:13. It was very tiring riding from Mount Airy to Winston every day for six weeks. Overall, radiation was much easier than the chemotherapy; Susie was fortunate and didn’t burn.

It has been over 9 years since Susie went through all the treatment and a lot has changed. No one that has had cancer will honestly tell you that a recurrence doesn’t cross their mind… but we find ways to deal with the uncertainty.

Susie volunteers with a group called the Surry Cancer Awareness Team. The SCAT serves many functions in Surry County: co-sponsoring cancer screening events, helping with patient fundraisers, discreetly providing funds for a cancer patient in need and creating packets for physicians to hand out to newly diagnosed cancer patients.

She continues to support the NC Triad Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in any way that she can. The Surry Cancer Awareness Team has become a huge help to her efforts. This year, the Surry Cancer Awareness Team along with Scenic Ford in Mt. Airy sponsored a Health Fair in conjunction with the NC Triad Race for the Cure Kick-off. They packed 20 agencies into the Scenic Ford showroom and offered free Prostrate Cancer screenings as well as free medical powers of attorney preparations. Representatives from the NC Triad Race for the Cure were on hand to answer questions and recruit teams and participants. The event was a big success!!!

For as long as Susie can, she will continue to walk, run, and race for the cure…