Aleta and Alicia Sayas are identical twins. They’ve always done everything together – but going through breast cancer at the same time is something neither of them ever expected. And now that they’re finished with treatment, the twins are ready to advocate on behalf of others with breast cancer.
In 2022, two months after passing a physical and clinical breast exam by her family doctor, Aleta felt a lump in her breast. Aleta reached out to her doctor, who ordered a series of tests. She was diagnosed with triple negative and invasive ductal carcinoma. “Learning I had breast cancer was devastating,” Aleta said. During her first appointment with a breast surgeon, Alicia went along for moral support.
“I asked the surgeon, since we’re twins, what does Aleta’s diagnosis mean, since we share the same genetic material,” Alicia explained, adding that she had recently had a 3D mammogram with normal results. “He said since we were identical twins, I needed to get an MRI.”
Alicia’s MRI revealed a spot, and she was sent for a biopsy. Just four weeks after Aleta’s diagnosis, Alicia learned she also had triple negative breast cancer like her sister. “It was a double whammy,” said Aleta. “It’s like I didn’t have time to process my own diagnosis. It was so unexpected. I was emotional. I was angry. I felt like Alicia’s mammogram and the medical community had failed her.”
Alicia was also overwhelmed. “I remember speaking with the oncologist and she mentioned a lot about possible side effects,” Alicia said. “One of them was death. I was in disbelief. It was a frightening experience.”
While there is not a history of breast cancer in the twins’ family, they did undergo genetic testing. Neither tested positive for a BRCA inherited gene mutation. Aleta’s treatment included chemotherapy and surgery and she’s currently on an anti-estrogen medication. Alicia had immunotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Aleta and Alicia have always been advocates for their health, but this experience propelled them to want to do more. They recently attended Komen’s Advocacy Summit, which has inspired them to advocate on behalf of people with breast cancer. “Breast cancer affects everyone. It doesn’t discriminate,” Alicia said. “And cancer is not free. Between wait times, the lack of affordable healthcare and insurance denials, people are dying.”
“The summit really instilled hope in me, listening to survivors and learning how important it is to continue this fight,” said Aleta. “It’s not going to take one person to fight breast cancer. It has to take everybody in order to find a cure.”
“We wanted to make sure our voices were going to be heard as it relates to the policymakers, the people who regulate, the government regulators,” Alicia added. “There are disparities in breast cancer health.” The sisters do breast cancer awareness at local homeless shelters as a way to get important breast health information to those who may have the least access to it.
“Now that we’ve gone through breast cancer ourselves, we feel like we are in a better position to raise our voices and be part of the solution,” Alicia said.
Learn more about Komen’s advocacy work.
