Elke survived breast cancer | mammogram | lumpectomy | double mastectomy | estrogen blockers

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Elke learned she had Invasive Lobular Breast Carcinoma from a mammography.  In terms of treatment, she had options.  Elke considered a lumpectomy, but found herself having to choose between a unilateral mastectomy or a bilateral mastectomy.  She chose a double mastectomy.  Following a successful surgery, she was prescribed estrogen blockers.  Elke eventually went into remission in 2014, and while she still goes in for followup visits with her oncologists, those visits are becoming less frequent.  She has returned to her job, and when weather allows, she gets to her job on her bicycle.

Elke, a native of Germany but a resident of Golden, Colorado, always made sure to go in for an annual mammogram.  One year, after such an appointment, she received a letter asking her to come in for a followup visit.  From that followup visit, she learned she had Invasive Lobular Breast Carcinoma. 

Her initial wish was to undergo a lumpectomy, but that was excluded rather quickly because of the size of the tumor.  That meant she had to make a decision between a unilateral mastectomy or a bilateral mastectomy.  She consulted a few friends who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but the greatest source of influence came from an x-ray technician who reminded her if only one breast was removed, she would have to continue to come in for mammograms.  That said, Elke decided to go with the double mastectomy.  The surgery was compatible with chemotherapy, so instead she went with estrogen blockers.

The procedure was a success, but afterward, Elke spent a week in intensive care, then rested at home for a month.  She still takes the estrogen blockers.

Elke received good news when her oncologist informed her she had gone into remission and would no longer have to come in for a visit every six months and could instead be seen once a year.

In large part, life has returned to normal for Elke.  She is back at her job, rides a bike to work and when time allows, she loves to go hiking.

By way of advice, she says to take each step of the cancer journey in stride, and to at all times, do what is best for you.  She also suggests listening to your body, and in and out of the doctor’s office, always serve as your own advocate.

TRANSCRIPT

Jim Foster: Welcome to the show, my friends and teammates.  If you happened to be joining us for the first time, we’re grateful to have you with us that you, and what you are going through is the sole purpose of this podcast.  We refer to ourselves as “Team Journey,” we’re all here for each other and we are sharing the journey together, and let’s get started with our guest, Elke.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been in remission since 2014.  She lives in Golden, Colorado.  She enjoys riding her bike to work, hiking in the mountains and playing with her kitties.  We can all learn a lot from what Elke has to share with us, and Elke, welcome to the show.

Elke: Thank you.

JF: We are so excited to have you with us, but before we get into talking about your cancer journey, we would like to learn a little more about you.

E: I grew up in Germany in a very small village in the Black Forest.  I am the second of four sisters.  I met my husband in my first year of college at the University of Heidelberg.  After I graduated, we moved to Florida.  I enjoyed living in St. Petersburg.  We lived in a very old neighborhood, surrounded by people who were between 60 and 80 years old.  My best friend and neighbor there, she actually passed away from breast cancer.  That was my first encounter with cancer.  We came to Colorado in 1998 and have been living in Golden ever since. 

JF: What happened in your daily life that made you think something physically might not be right?

E: Actually, I had no symptoms.  I went for my regular annual mammography, and received a letter in the mail asking me to followup with another appointment.  It was a politely-written letter asking me to come in for another appointment to “exclude any concerns.”  A subsequent mammography revealed I had cancer.

JF: What were your emotions when you got this terrible news?

E: I had received such a letter before, twice, actually, and what usually happened was I would go in for another mammography and it would turn out that the lump that I had was benign.  I expected the same thing to happen this time.  I went in for additional tests and ultimately a biopsy, which led to my diagnosis of Invasive Lobular Breast Carcinoma.

JF: Did you have more than one option for treatment?

E: I had two nurses in the family, so my sisters, I consulted them first, along with a friend who had the same diagnosis a couple of years earlier.  I had to make a decision between unilateral or bilateral mastectomy.  At first, I thought about a lumpectomy, but that was excluded pretty quickly because of the size of my tumor.  I consulted a couple of patients that I knew among my friends, but what ultimately swayed me to have the bilateral mastectomy was an x-ray technician who was much younger than I and she told me if I only have the one breast removed, you will still have to come back for mammographies on the other breast.  I thought, why not be done with it, and so I chose to have the double mastectomy.

JF: Did you undergo the treatment in or near Golden?

E: My treatment actually took place in the surgery, meaning I had to travel to Denver.  I spent a week in intensive care and then rest at home for a month.  That was my treatment. I was working up until my surgery, then I was off for a month.

JF: Did you have family or friends nearby that were able to be there for moral support?

E: My family lives in Germany, but I had a lot of support from friends who lived nearby.  They offered to give me rides to the hospital, if I needed them.  I had the support of friends and talking to my sisters helped a lot as well.

JF: Did you have to undergo chemo or radiation?

E: I actually expected to undergo chemo, but I was told my cancer historically does not have a different outcome with chemo.  So, surgery and the estrogen blockers were the prescribed treatment.

JF: Would you say that there were any side effects that came with your treatment?

E: Other than losing a major body part, the medicine that I am still on makes your joints ache, it is not very pleasant.  The first medicine I was on made me confused and dizzy, and we changed the prescription, but that is pretty minor compared to what other patients have to endure.  I still have to take these estrogen blockers.

JF: Did you have health insurance to cover your expenses?

E: Luckily, I do have health insurance through my employer and the co-pays, I was covered. 

JF: During this cancer journey, what would you say was your lowest point?  How did you deal with it?

E: My lowest point was when I learned my sister’s ovarian cancer was terminal, that she would not survive.  We had kind of lived this cancer experience together.  She was diagnosed one month before I was diagnosed, so that was very sad to know that she wouldn’t make it. 

JF: How did you find the strength to overcome that?

E: Actually, it was another sister.  When we learned that our oldest sister a limited time left, my sister arranged for the four of us to meet in Switzerland and we rented a house by a lake, and we all got together and had a very fun time.  We hiked, my oldest sister was very athletic, always lived very healthy.  We spent two weeks in Switzerland together, celebrating us and that was basically the gift that my sisters gave all of us.

JF: Other than being told your cancer is in remission, what is one of your favorite memories of your cancer journey?  Is there anything that sticks out as a positive?

E: It was that trip to see my sisters. That was the best thing.

JF: Do you recall a time when you felt, or were informed, that there was no remaining cancer?

E: It happened when my oncologist said she didn’t need to see me every six months, and that’s okay if I come in once a year.  That made me feel much better because I am a bit of a fatalist.  Every time I would see the oncologist, I would brace myself because I thought there would be bad news.

JF: Was there something you were looking forward to doing as kind of a way to celebrate this milestone?

E: I was relieved not having to go to Denver every six months.  Now it was just once a year.  That was a relief.

JF: What have you been doing with your life since then?  Is there any change in your routine?

E: Getting up in the morning, having a cup of coffee, getting to ride my bike to work, that’s a gift.  I have a heightened sense of aware of things that are beautiful.  I will stop and take a picture of a flock of geese in the morning or a deer that crosses my path.  I don’t take things for granted so easily anymore.

JF: As you look to the future, what are your hopes and dreams?

E: Just to live long enough to enjoy retirement.

JF: Do you ever think you would leave Golden and move back to Germany?

E: Germany, just for visits.  I like Golden.  I like Colorado.

JF: You are now in remission, but you certainly remember what it was like to hear you had been diagnosed.  For those freshly diagnosed, what words of wisdom would you share with them?

E: Every person’s experience is very unique and individual.  There is no recipe.  You have to discover what makes you feel good.  For some people, that may be joining a support group.  My sister did that in Germany.  Some people don’t want to talk about it or at least not with just anybody.  Some people will talk about it, but with just one or two select individuals they are close to, that was probably my experience.  It is a very unique experience, there is no blanket recipe, you just have to do whatever feels good for yourself.

JF: We have got a few final questions for you.  First, what was the scariest thing about your cancer experience?

E: The thought of not being prepared for death, like not having my affairs in order and leaving my cats behind.

JF: Could you give an example of a small accomplishment you achieved along the way?

E: Being here.  Being able to talk about this.  That’s a huge accomplishment.  I want to mention I had wonderful surgeons.  I will be forever grateful for the crew, for the team at Kaiser in Denver.  I really didn’t think I could live to talk about it.  I give a lot of credit to my surgeons. 

JF: During this journey, what would you say is the best piece of advice you received?

E: I talked a lot to a friend in Florida who had the same kind of cancer, and I felt very comfortable talking to her.  I couldn’t pinpoint one piece of advice.  Just talking to another person who had gone through this, and she kept assuring me, telling me how she had gone through and survived and that I would, too.  That made me feel very hopeful.

JF: If you could do it all over again and knew you were going to have the same positive outcome, is there anything you would have done differently?

E: Yes, I would have taken more time off work.  I could have taken more time.  The doctor asked me if I was ready to go back to work, and I went back to work after a month.  I had had a 12-hour surgery and as soon as the drainage bags were gone, I went back to work.  In hindsight, I should have stayed home a little longer.

JF: Before we sign off today, Elke, do you have any final pieces of wisdom or advice that you would leave our listeners with?

E: Take things in stride and do whatever is best for you.  Sometimes advice from others is good, but take your time and listen to yourself as to what is best for you.

JF: Elke, we are so happy for you, and we wish you the absolute very best with your future.  We are so grateful for the time you spent with us today, your expertise and we just wish you the very best in the future.

E: Thanks for having me.  It’s a pleasure.

JF: I know we can all take away a ton of information from what Elke shared with us.  We’ll have links below that Elke shared with us, and we wish you the very best outcome in your cancer journey.  Until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Additional Resources:

CancerInterviews.com: www.cancerinterviews.com