Discovering Cancer: Part One

DE PERE - People milling about the hallways of Pioneer Elementary in Ashwaubenon looked a little different one day earlier this fall.

“It's really cool. Most people have it all dyed or some people have it spiked,” said student Jenna Lewaren.

With a one dollar donation, students and staff could don colorful wigs or wear crazy hair-dos to help one of their own. Beth Hibbard -a speech therapist - is battling breast cancer.

“I am just shocked and grateful and it's just an awesome thing to see how many people are so supportive of this,” said Beth.

Hibbard was surprised to learn she had cancer after her diagnosis last June. She had no signs of it and she's a healthy person--a runner, a swimmer and very active. Already proactive about her breast health she discovered her cancer by listening to a friend.

Sara Herrscher is a fellow speech therapist in the Ashwaubenon School District.

The two women often shared conversations about their families, their lives, and their health.

Last spring Sara received some devastating news of her own.

“On Friday March 13th, I found out that I did have breast cancer,” said Herrscher.

Sara was also pro-active. She went to her doctor for mammograms and they always came back clean.

“I'd been getting mammograms since I was 35 years old. But the mammograms didn't show it. I mean I had just had a mammogram in August and it was fine,” Herrscher said.

She learned not to rely solely on a mammogram.

Sara had dense breast tissue that breast experts say can make it hard to spot cancer on a mammogram.

She also had a history of fibroadenomas. Those are benign lumps in the breast that don't always differentiate themselves from cancerous lumps.

Last December Sara found new lumps.

“These didn't really feel any different from the other ones actually,” explained Herrscher.

Sara went to her doctor to follow up… and in March the situation turned serious.

“After the physical exam, then I had an ultrasound, and then after the ultrasound then they did a needle biopsy,” said Herrscher.

That confirmed Sara's cancer.

Right after her mid-March diagnosis, she got in touch with Beth, who she knew shared the same breast traits.

“I told her my story,” said Herrscher, “and then I remember her emailing me and saying, oh my mammogram was due in July, and I was like July!! Are you crazy? Get in there and don't get a mammogram either. Get an ultrasound or an MRI because just from my experience, I wanted her to be safe.”

Sara wouldn't rest until Beth went to see her doctor.

“She highly encouraged me to also go the one step further and just make sure that they were all fibroadenomas,” said Beth.

Beth asked her physician for a MRI.

“I was considered borderline at-risk. My mother was diagnosed last year with breast cancer. Which usually at an older age does not have much to do with, like they're concerned about the genetic history and genes, but with my history of the fibroadenomas plus that on top of it, she said sure let's go for it,” explained Hibbard.

The doctor said insurance probably wouldn't cover the test.

Beth said she'd worry about the insurance issues later, and had the MRI.

A couple of days later, she and her family received some shocking news.

“Some of the lumps on the MRI showed some concern so they wanted to do biopsies and so they did a couple biopsies and those came back cancer-positive,” Beth said.

“I couldn't believe it this June when she called me and said it was cancer. I was shocked,” said Sara.

Beth's breast cancer was in the early stages when it was caught, and only in the right breast.

But, just like in her friend Sara's case, Beth's cancer lumps could not be seen on the typical mammogram.

“There is nothing obviously abnormal about this,” said Dr. Alonzo Walker, Beth’s doctor, of her mammogram.

The MRI images showed something different.

“It demonstrated that there basically was one area of cancer in that right breast -in spite of the fact that she'd had in the past-multiple other benign tumors-specifically the fibroadenomas in that right breast,” said Dr. Walker.

Beth went to Dr. Walker at Froedert Hospital in Wauwatosa for surgery, because some cancer remained after her first surgery.

Dr. Walker removed more breast tissue and lymph nodes. Those are glands that help the body fight against things like infection.

What was early and mild turned aggressive.

“I had 21 lymph nodes taken out and 15 of the 21 were positive. So it was very aggressive,” said Beth.

“With the reported pathological size of her cancer-this is one thing that we did not expect and don't usually find,” Dr. Walker explained.

Dr. Walker says because of that, Beth is at greater risk for other types of cancer in the future, and her doctors will need to monitor her closely.

The American Cancer Society recommends all women over 40 have an annual mammogram and a breast exam. The mammogram is considered the gold standard to detect breast cancer-80 to 90 percent of the time for those women who have no symptoms of the disease.
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