BeWiser+ About Breast Cancer

Many people know my Olympic journey, but one that many people don’t know about is my journey with breast cancer, one that started long before my diagnosis. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1980, but she didn’t want anyone to know about it. Back then, we thought it was a death sentence and, though she survived, she ended up having a radical mastectomy.

Almost thirty years later, when I was diagnosed in 2007, I was overwhelmed and scared. All of my skating training had taught me that your hard work will pay off, but I knew that cancer was different. However, I was lucky. My cancer was ER+, which is actually the most common kind of breast cancer, and stage 2, which typically has a good prognosis.

I had a lumpectomy, followed by radiation treatment. Then, like many women with ER+ breast cancer, I was put on anti-estrogen therapy for five years to reduce my risk of recurrence. While every breast cancer survivor’s experience with anti-estrogen therapy is different, I found myself feeling really fatigued, achy and stiff day after day after starting my treatment. When my doctor told me that I may have to continue for an additional five years, I was very disappointed. I didn’t want to continue to feel tired, sluggish and not like myself.

Breast cancer wasn’t the only disease that my mother and I shared. We also have a family history of struggling with depression. I had been on anti-depressants for a while, but after my initial treatment, my anti-estrogen medication along with my other medicines were not a good combination. I had to go off of my anti-depressants, so in addition to feeling drained and sore, I also had trouble with my thoughts. I needed some clarity around the next phase of my journey.

When I learned that there was a test available that may help determine my individual risk of recurrence and whether or not I was likely to benefit from anti-estrogen therapy beyond year five, I decided to ask my doctor for it. After discussing with my doctor the risks and potential benefits of continued therapy, I knew the test was a way for me to feel more comfortable about my decision. I didn’t want to continue to struggle with the impact on my quality of life, so I was hopeful that the test would help me and my physician decide what was best for my cancer treatment journey. When you have breast cancer and a family history of it, anything that can give you peace of mind is a good thing. The test helped determine that continuing on anti-estrogen treatment was not likely to reduce my risk for recurrence with any great significance, so my doctor and I discussed the results and together we decided that there was little likelihood of benefit in continuing the treatment. The results made me feel more comfortable with my decision to stop anti-estrogen therapy last June.

This year I am happy to be celebrating eight years of being cancer-free! Of course the possibility of my cancer coming back is always at the back of my mind. But I continue to work closely with my doctor to evaluate the current tests and information that are available to ensure that we came up with a treatment plan that is right for me.

I got involved with the BeWisER+ About Breast Cancer campaign because I want to encourage women who are breast cancer survivors like me to understand that wisdom is power in the fight against breast cancer. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and be honest about how you’re feeling so that your doctor can help you better navigate the next phase of your breast cancer journey.