Meet Tina

AMBASSADOR

“We should be doing everything we can to overcome our trials, whatever they are, and be there for our families and friends as long as we can.”

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“We should be doing everything we can to overcome our trials, whatever they are, and be there for our families and friends as long as we can.”

Mother, Michigan native, grandmother

ABOUT TINA, IN HER OWN WORDS:

• Michigan autumns have a place deep in my heart.
• I am still active in my church community, still too busy for my hobbies, and I’m still here for my girls.
• I am a firm believer that life does not end here.

My Family History

I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of a fireman and homemaker. There was a lot of love to go around. After my dad retired, we moved to northern Michigan. This was a big change, coming from the city. It’s where I fell in love for the first time—with autumn. With the crunch of dried leaves under my feet on cold, crisp mornings and with the heavy smells of nature, I found peace. I moved away from this beautiful area and was blessed with three beautiful daughters. While the girls were growing up, we would fly back to Michigan so my children could experience the seasons and the love of our family. I live in Utah now, but to this day, Michigan autumns still have a place deep in my heart.

Both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer; my father had lymphoma and my mother had two separate episodes of breast cancer. My father passed away, but my mother recovered both times.

Because of my family history, I was more mindful than average of my own health, and would try to remember to go in for mammograms, but when you are young and strong, cancer, disease, and sickness aren’t at the top of your mind. You think of your future, your children, and all the things you want to do with them while they are young, and all the things you want to do when they are grown and out of the house. You think of all the things you need to get done and your career. There’s no time for hobbies—there’s too much to do, and there’s too much to teach my little girls before they grow up. Because of that, I found excuses when I occasionally skipped a mammogram.

A Change In My Health

However, I became much more consistent with my mammograms when I turned 50, and the only irregularities that kept showing up were fluid cysts. One fall day, I noticed that my left nipple looked like it was literally being sucked in. I couldn’t remember ever hearing of this happening, so I wasn’t sure if this was an alarm or not. I had a mammogram appointment coming up and would ask about it then. At the appointment, the tech asked me if I had any concerns, so I told her what was happening and she said that since I expressed concern, she could not do a regular mammogram and that I would need to reschedule my appointment for a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound.

I went back for the ultrasound and mammogram. Both showed a mass in the upper center of my left breast and in the lymph nodes in my left armpit. They took a biopsy of both areas. They called me the next day and told me I needed to see an oncologist.

I asked them to send me their report, which they did, and even after reading the word “malignant,” I told myself I had nothing to worry about. My mother went through breast cancer twice, and both times they were able to remove it, and she lived. I would follow suit.

I immediately started shopping for an oncologist. A friend in the medical field gave me the name of a breast cancer surgeon, so I made an appointment. The surgeon went through the entire process of what they would do and told me all of my options, including a lumpectomy, a mastectomy, a double mastectomy, all with or without reconstruction. If I opted for reconstruction, they would use the fat from my belly for the reconstruction process. Wait, what? You mean I can trade in my barely Bs for some sexy Cs and get a tummy tuck? As you can imagine, I started to see a silver lining. Maybe this won’t be so bad!

From Nothing To Metastatic Breast Cancer

The surgeon wanted me to meet with her team’s medical oncologist and radiation oncologist before we did any surgery. They both went over the same procedures that the breast surgeon already reviewed with me, but the medical oncologist also wanted a PET scan to make sure I didn’t have cancer anywhere else. A PET scan is where they inject you with a radioactive dye that attaches itself to cells that are growing faster than normal, which of course, are cancer cells, and the dye lights up on the PET scan. Good, I thought. We are being proactive. I wanted to know I was clean everywhere else. I went in for the PET scan, and the results came back the next day. I lit up like a Christmas tree.

My oncologist wanted to see me immediately. I brought two friends and two daughters, all of whom were a huge support. Along with the cancer in my left breast and lymph nodes in my armpit, there was cancer in my neck, my pelvis, my chest, and two places in my spine, all of it inoperable. Surgery was pointless now—no trading in my barely Bs for sexy Cs, no tummy tuck—and seriously, in that moment, that was all I could think of. I forgot everything the doctor said to me. With the doctor’s permission, one of my friends taped the conversation—which I highly recommend if the doctor will allow it. We were able to listen to everything again and get some clarity.

I had my mammogram records for the last three years sent to my oncologist, but there wasn’t anything there. How does that happen? How does a person go from nothing to metastatic breast cancer in a year? I asked my medical oncologist during that initial meeting and he said I had done everything I was supposed to do. That wasn’t much comfort.

Taking Charge And Moving Forward

My oncologist started me on IBRANCE and letrozole right away. He explained that IBRANCE in combination with letrozole, which is an aromatase inhibitor, is a first-line treatment for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Some side effects I’ve noticed include low white blood cell counts, nausea, hot flashes, and two of my personal favorites, constipation and diarrhea. Other patients may experience common side effects including infections or fatigue. Please know that everybody is different, and others may have different results.

I am fighting it with everything I have. I believe that faith, whatever denomination we are or whatever religion we belong to, can give us strength. It can give us hope too, for us, for our loved ones, and for our future. I am a firm believer that life does not end here, that this is just a small, but very important part of a huge eternal picture. But I also believe that we should be doing everything we can to overcome our trials, whatever they are, so we can be there for our families and friends as long as possible. I am no longer taking IBRANCE with letrozole and am now receiving a different treatment.

My life has changed, but the important things remain constant. I still enjoy the cool, crisp mornings of autumn, I am still surrounded by loved ones, and now, instead of playing with my children, I am playing with my grandchildren. I am still active in my church community, still too busy for my hobbies, and I’m still here for my grown-up daughters, still giving them much more advice than they ask for, and, like when I was a child, there is still a lot of love to go around.

_{Ambassadors were asked to share their personal stories about IBRANCE. All content was accurate at the time of publication and may have since changed.}

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