Susie Henning
Survivor
You Aren’t Going to South Korea Tomorrow
I had skipped my mammogram in 2011 and finally went in Sept. 2012. I got the usual letter to come back from an ultrasound, so I made the appt for Oct. 17, 2012, the day before I was to leave on a mission trip with my best friend and her daughter to South Korea (her daughter’s birth country).
Instead of the usual Oh, it’s just a cyst or reminder to come back yearly because I had dense breast tissue, the technologist brought in the radiologist, and she looked and gently told me, “It is cancer; we need to do a biopsy, right away.” I was shocked because there was no history in my family, and I was supposed to leave the next day! So, they scheduled the biopsy for that afternoon. I called my friend, and she came and met me in the parking lot, we sort of went to eat, but neither of us could eat our lunch.
She went back with me for the biopsy, and she said when I came back into the dressing room, she knew by the look on my face I would not be going to South Korea with her. The next few weeks were full of dr.’s appointments and MRIs.
I opted for a double mastectomy because my MRI lit up like a Christmas tree with calcifications. So the day before Thanksgiving 2012, I had a double mastectomy, four lymph nodes removed, and tissue expanders placed with calcifications. My cancer was estrogen-positive and found in my right breast. It turns out, even though it did not show up on the MRI, there was cancer in my left breast that was found during surgery that wasn’t found on the ultrasound or MRI. A month after surgery, my oncologist ordered an Oncotype DX test, and my score was a glorious 6!!! No chemo was needed!
The cancer was caught early. I started two years of Tamoxifen and then did eight years of Arimidex. I am happy to say that I have been cancer-free ever since!! This experience has taught me the value of life, the importance of regular check-ups, and the resilience of the human spirit. I now live each day with gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose.