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Dawn's Personal Story

© Bobbi Jones

On January 20, 1999, I started having what felt like muscular pain in my left side. I wasn't really worried as that is the side I carry my daughter on and I could have easily pulled it. As I was massaging around, I noticed a lump in my breast that wasn't in the other one. I called my OB/GYN the next morning and he immediately sent me to the Breast Center at Allegheny General Hospital. They saw me a week later and did a mammogram.

Of course, something showed up and I had a needle aspiration, which did not work, as the lump was solid. They asked me if I wanted to do the biopsy right away or wait. I opted to have it done immediately, and they said I would have the results in three business days.

God bless my OB/GYN as he got the results for me the very next day. (It is definitely a matter of who you know in these situations.) He was absolutely heartbroken when he called to tell me that I had "invasive ductal carcinoma, high nuclear grade," but he said he would send me anywhere in the country to get me cured.

Fortunately, I did not have to go far. Norman Wolmark, one of the top breast surgeons in the country and head of the NSABP, the organization that does most of the clinical trials for all of North America, is based right here in Pittsburgh and agreed to take my case.

Dr. Wolmark confirmed that I had two tumors, one was 16x9mms and the other 9x9mms. There was also a lymph node involved in the armpit. He said that the normal course of action would be to remove the tumors and do a lymph node dissection, however, there was new thinking that giving chemo up front prior to surgery could be of value. The goal was to shrink the tumors and the node which, if it worked, would lead to less traumatic and therefore breast-conserving surgery. It has also been shown that there is a relationship between tumor shrinkage in the breast and improvement in disease free survival. This means that in patients whose tumors shrink after chemotherapy, there may be less chance for recurrence. According to the figures, 80% of women experience shrinkage and in about 35% of the cases the tumor cannot be felt by the end of chemo. In those who do not experience shrinkage after the second course, the plan of action is to proceed with surgery, and follow up with chemo if appropriate.

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