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Angela kept her regularly scheduled mammogram in January. Following that check-up, on the Fourth of July, she performed a self-check and knew something didn’t feel right. From her intuition and experience working at MercyOne, she knew she needed to be tested. She made an appointment at the MercyOne Comfort Health Center for Women and MercyOne Katzmann Breast Care in Clive.
“I told the breast nurse navigator at the Comfort Health Center for Women that something wasn’t right. They scheduled me immediately and I had all the testing done in one day. We received the results the next day and surgeon Dr. Tiffany Torstenson told me it was stage 2 cancer. The diagnosis was confirmed with an MRI,” Angela said with a tearful smile.
Angela was very worried and scared but was encouraged that her team of MercyOne doctors had a personalized treatment plan for her specific cancer, and the prognosis was very good.
She began chemotherapy only 11 days after feeling the lump during the self-check. Chemotherapy would take six rounds. During Angela’s six-hour chemotherapy sessions she was able to work alongside her husband, a MercyOne colleague. Angela was so grateful to have a private room during her time at the MercyOne Clive Cancer Center. It allowed for a quiet place to receive treatment and work.
“I was so happy that my husband and I were able to work remotely while I had my chemotherapy treatments. It gave me a sense of normalcy. I felt taken care of by my doctors and my colleagues. It was amazing to see the attention MercyOne gives their patients. It made me trust them even more.”
After Angela’s second round of chemotherapy, she received good news. The chemotherapy was working.
The December following her diagnosis, Angela had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction performed by Dr. Torstenson and Dr. Michael Carlisle. After recovering from the mastectomy, she was scheduled for radiation therapy. “My radiation oncologist, Dr. Philip Colletier, said, ‘We are going to get this and then your husband can take you on vacation,’” Angela explained laughing.
Radiation was scheduled at the end of the day so she could work. “Treatments only took five minutes. The staff was amazing and sympathetic. I would follow their instructions to a T,” Angela said. Once her radiation schedule was complete, a final reconstructive surgery was scheduled.
Angela’s advice to others is to be diligent about performing self-checks in between mammograms. Don’t ignore those signs. Make that appointment.
