Life is more important than a breast.
That’s according to Vickie Brown, breast cancer survivor from Great Bend. She should know, as not only did she battle breast cancer in her right breast, and had a mastectomy, she battled breast cancer in her lung and a form of hormonal breast cancer outside her rectum. For the past 14 years, Vickie has been undergoing some sort of cancer treatment. She credits the help and support of a higher power, her husband, children, other family and friends, as well as Dr. Mark Fesen at Central Care Cancer Center in Great Bend.
It started back in 2004, when Brown found a lump on her right breast. She went to her family physician and he aspirated it, but the lump came back. She had a drainage tube put in and had it drained three times before the surgeon suggested a lumpectomy. Up to this point, no one had mentioned cancer because all the tests performed never showed cancer, but it was cancer. What kind though, was to be determined.
Brown went ahead and had a full right mastectomy on March 1, 2005. Her lymph nodes were also removed. She ended up in Houston at MD Anderson with more doctors and testing, which now showed cancer in her lung. This is also where she asked, “what can we do if it is cancer” and her young doctor said she was going to die.
After a few more tests in Houston, a biopsy discovered the lump in Brown’s lung was breast cancer. “I had breast cancer in my lung. The strange thing is I had no breast cancer in my lymph nodes, I had no breast cancer anywhere else but this lump and in my lung. On top of that, it was diagnosed as HER2, not hormonal.”
About one of five breast cancers are HER2-positive, which is a more aggressive form of breast cancer. The breast cancer cells test positive for a protein receptor called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Sometimes the gene that controls the HER2 protein, and your body, creates too much of these receptors.
At that time, Brown was prescribed the drug Herceptin.
Brown’s family history includes colon, pancreatic and lung cancers, but no breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, about 5-10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result directly from gene changes passed on from a parent.
However, since the beginning, Vickie had yet to see an oncologist and that’s where Dr. Mark Fesen from Central Care Cancer Center comes in. “I went for my first treatment on May 5th in 2005, and Dr. Fesen told me when I walked in the door, I can’t cure you. But, I think I can make it chronic.”
A few months later, Dr. Fesen declared Vickie in remission. That’s after CT scans showed no more signs of breast cancer in her lung. Vickie continued to take Herceptin and other chemo drugs once a week for 18 months. That moved to once every two weeks and then finally a maintenance schedule of once every three weeks. She’s been on that schedule for 14 years in May of 2019.
During that time, Brown had knee replacement surgery, broke her ankle which led to surgery, and just two years ago, got an infection in her port. She still has about 12 inches of line inside her from the subclavian vein to her heart. “It’s grown into the vein. So, I think my body just absorbs whatever. It just takes it on and keeps it.”
Throughout all of this, Brown focuses on staying positive and she has some great stories to tell.
“(When I was first diagnosed), I didn’t know the doctor could give you a prescription for a prosthetic, so it was just me and my husband trying to figure out ways to keep my bra weighted down. He finally tried tying off the fingers to a rubber glove and filled it full. It worked, and I went man this is great, what is it? And he whispers ... cat litter! I told him I’m going to have cats jump on me.” Vickie did have breast reconstructive surgery in 2011.
Her story doesn’t end there, as earlier this year, during a regular colonoscopy there was a spot that looked suspicious. It turned out to be a type of hormonal breast cancer, which was located on the outside edge of her rectum. Once again, she was back with Dr. Fesen at Central Care Cancer Center. Vickie was taken off Herceptin and prescribed a chemo pill called Arimidex. She now sees the doctor, does a CT scan and has blood work done every three months.
“I have a very good support group. I have very good family and friends that support me, and I have always been treated very well at Central Care Cancer Center. I love this place. I was shocked when I didn’t have to go each week for some piddly thing.”
Brown added, “I always think to myself there’s always somebody worse than me. Always. I’ve had people that I’ve been sitting next to and I just want to put my arms over and say, here take some of me. Because I feel like sometimes, like if I just touch them, that I can help them.”
October is breast cancer awareness month. The pink you see around you in your daily life is a reminder to get yourself checked. Breast cancer statistics show that monthly self-exams are important as well as getting an annual mammogram after the age of 40.
One in eight women and 10% of men will develop breast cancer. There is a 99 percent survivor rate if diagnosed with stage 1, 93 percent at stage 2 and 72 percent at stage 3 for breast cancer.
Central Care Cancer Center is dedicated to keeping cancer care close to home with facilities throughout Kansas, including Great Bend, Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal. They are a proud member of the community and are committed to bringing an unmatched quality level of care with the most advanced treatments available. They strive to bring complete cancer care under one roof by providing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, financial counseling and other supportive services.
