Did you know that the Class of '87 has a true survivor? We are not talking about some reality show on CBS. We have a true fighter who has battled and won the top prize...life!
In January of 2007, Leanne and Eric began to search for classmates for our 20th reunion. They quickly found Vicki who informed them that she had just been diagnosed with IBC, (Inflammatory Breast Cancer). Since January, Vicki has gone to war with this disease and is winning.
Many of you were fortunate enough to see and talk to Vicki at the reunion last month. For those of you who were not able to attend, Vicki has been kind enough to share the details of her story with us.
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MY BATTLE WITH INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCERBy Vicki Pike, WUHS Class of ‘87
I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (a very rare, very aggressive form of breast cancer) on December 1,2006. I first realized something was wrong on Saturday November 25th when I noticed that my right breast was larger than my left breast. When I reached up to feel it, it was hard as a rock! I called my surgeon’s office first thing Monday morning. He saw me the next day, where he tried to aspirate fluid from what we hoped would be a simple cyst. When he couldn’t get any fluid and determined it was a solid mass, he sent me right over to Valley Regional Hospital for a mammogram and an ultrasound. The next day, I went back to Dr. Tetirick’s office for the biopsy and had the results two days later, confirming cancer. The following week, I went back to the hospital for blood work, a bone scan, and CT scans of my head, chest, and abdomen. Waiting for those test results was extremely stressful, not knowing if the cancer had spread elsewhere. But on Friday December 8th, Dr. Tetirick called me at work with the good news of no metastasis! This made my cancer a stage IIIb, since it was already in my axillary lymph nodes and the mass itself was very large at roughly 3 x 5 inches. (Stage IIIb is the next to the last stage of IV. Stage IV means it has spread to other organs and there is no chance of a cure).
The next order of business was to decide where to get my treatment. Most breast cancer treatment consists of surgery first, then chemotherapy, and then either radiation or hormone therapy. Because IBC is so aggressive, the treatment is chemotherapy first followed by surgery and radiation. In my case, I’m not a candidate for hormonal therapy because of the characteristics of my tumor. I told Dr. Tetirick I would get my treatment wherever they could get me started the quickest, as my breast and armpit were becoming extremely painful. As it turned out, Dartmouth-Hitchcock won the race-and boy was I glad! I had my initial consultation with an oncologist and a surgeon on December 11th. They needed to do more tests on me before starting chemotherapy. Between December 14th and 21st, I had repeat biopsies (ouch!), an MRI, an echocardiogram, and placement of a mediport in my chest (a minor surgery) through which they would administer my chemo. I remember being really sick from the anesthesia and throwing up in the car on the way home-what fun!
I had my first of six cycles of chemotherapy on Friday December 29th. I would get chemo once every three weeks, always on a Friday so that I could rest on the weekend and go back to work on Monday. Getting chemo was definitely not fun. I had to give myself injections in the tops of my thighs each Saturday morning after chemo to keep my white blood cell count up. I became anemic for awhile (which made me feel even more exhausted), had nosebleeds that wouldn’t stop, severe headaches, body aches, fevers and chills, nausea, and lost my sense of taste. My hair started coming out in clumps on January 13th, so I shaved it all off. Through all of this, my Dad died on February 24th after his 2-year battle with leukemia. My last chemo treatment was on April 13th. Contrary to what most people think, most women getting treatment for breast cancer actually gain weight instead of losing it. This is because of the steroids they give you during chemo to help combat the side effects. I gained about 10 pounds. Not only was I bald, but now I felt fat and was soon to have no boobs! Talk about an identity crisis!
They gave me 3-1/2 weeks to build up some blood cells before my double mastectomy surgery on May 8th. I chose to have my left breast removed also in order to reduce my risk of having a recurrence. While trying to recover from surgery, I developed a hematoma (a huge blood clot) in the left side of my chest which blocked the drain tube and started bleeding all over myself. So, I got to have two surgeries for the price of one! They had to take me back into the O.R. and open me back up to clean the blood clot out and put a new drain in. Woooo-eeeee, what fun! Well, there was a positive side to it: After that second surgery they gave me my very own morphine pump. All I had to do was press a little button and I was juiced up and smiling again, and I could do so every 6 minutes!
Recovery from surgery has seemed very slow and has been extremely frustrating, but other than a slight loss of range of motion and some mild pain in my right arm, I am finally fully recovered. I am now on the last leg of my treatment journey. I’m receiving daily radiation treatments (Monday through Friday). As of July 13th, I have completed 12 of 28 treatments. The treatments are quick and painless but will have a cumulative effect. My skin is just starting to turn pink now but may become blistered and/or peel by the end of treatment. It’s also making me very tired. Other than that, it’s a breeze compared to the chemo!
I’m still not working. I’ve been out on short-term disability since May 7th. Right now, my biggest problem is residual joint pain and short-term memory loss from the chemotherapy. I’m not sure how long these will last, or if they will be permanent or not. At any rate, this disease has changed me as a person, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. But I will say the change has all been for the better. It definitely puts things into perspective and makes you realize what’s really important in life. I’m one of the lucky ones so far. According to statistics from MD Anderson and my excellent response to the chemo, my oncologist says I have an 83% chance of still being alive and recurrence free in 10 years. That’s the best prognosis you can get with this disease. But no one ever really knows for sure, so I just enjoy every day.
If you have any questions or comments for me, please feel free to e-mail me at vxp@together.net. For more information on inflammatory breast cancer, please visit the following web sites:
http://www.ibcsupport.org/
http://www.ibchelp.org/
http://www.ibcresearch.org/
http://www.cancer.gov/
http://www.cancer.org/
Thank you, Vicki! What an amazing story of courage and strength! Please, feel free to email Vicki and give her your support.
If you would like to share anything on this web site, please contact Eric at ewingericr@aol.com. The long term success of this web site is dependent upon your contributions. It is a class project. Share an accomplishment, a hobby, your business, a recent trip, birth, wedding...
