NEWS

Battling breast cancer: You don’t have to do it alone

Jennifer L. Manfrin

COSHOCTON — Breast cancer survivors come from all walks of life, and though their journeys are different, they also share a common bond.

Leslie Croft’s spirit as a teacher is evident in her brightly decorated classroom. It’s a job she continued to do throughout her treatment for breast cancer because she said it gave her a sense of normalcy. In 2013, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer that had started to spread to her lymph nodes.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, three area women are sharing their stories with the hopes of raising awareness and touching the lives of others who are fighting the disease.

October has important meaning to Leslie Croft, a lifelong Coshocton resident and second-grade teacher at Coshocton Elementary School. She calls it her “cancerversary”: the month that marks the two year point of her mastectomy in 2013 and the beginning of treatment of her stage 3 breast cancer.

October also is a time Croft hopes more women become aware of the need for screening and that breast cancer survivors realize there is support available.

“My husband and I were private about the diagnosis at first. But we discussed it and realized that we can talk about this and help prevent someone else from going through the same thing,” said Croft, who has spoken at fundraising events about her journey from diagnosis through treatment. “If one person hearing our story is persuaded to go to the doctor to get checked or to have a discussion with family about their possible risks, I would tell my story a million times over.”

Croft’s spirit as a teacher is evident in her brightly decorated classroom. It’s a job she continued to do throughout her treatment because she said it gave her a sense of normalcy.

Croft was diagnosed in 2013 with stage 3 breast cancer that had started to spread to her lymph nodes. Although she had found a lump in her left breast, as a healthy, 42-year-old woman with no family history of breast cancer, she was not concerned when she first discovered it.

“I had never experienced any breast health issues, so I thought it literally was nothing,” she said.

After a diagnosis process that took her through series of mammograms, ultrasounds and a biopsy, five malignant lumps where found.

“It was probably one of the lowest times of my life,” Croft said. “The diagnosis was a total surprise.”

Croft is far from alone. According to Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2013-2014, a report by the American Cancer Society, 232,340 cases of invasive breast cancer — breast cancers that have spread beyond the point of origination — and 64,640 cases of in situ breast cancer — cancers in the lining of the breast duct that have not spread beyond where the cancer cells originated — were estimated to be diagnosed in 2013 in the U.S. In men, it was estimated that 2,240 breast cancer cases would be diagnosed.

With the exception of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, which translates to a 12 percent chance of a woman in the U.S. being diagnosed with the disease in her lifetime.

Divine intervention played a role in her diagnosis and prognosis, Croft said. Although only one lump showed up on her original mammogram and she planned for a lumpectomy, her doctor was suspicious. High-resolution imaging showed the seriousness of the disease, which also resulted in the need for six months of chemotherapy followed by radiation.

Croft opted for a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, and the pathology report that followed showed precancer changes developing in her right breast.

“After a lot of soul searching, I decided to keep a positive outlook. Self-pity and wallowing in it wasn’t going to help me,” she said.

A self-described Notre Dame football addict, Croft said a quote by former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz gave her guidance as she faced her diagnosis and treatment: “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.”

Today, Croft’s doctors said she is cancer free. She said in addition to excellent medical care, she owes her recovery to supportive family, friends, co-workers and breast health navigator Becky Dangelo at Knox Community Hospital, whom she calls “an angel.”

“I would like to tell women who are newly diagnosed not to be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what is right for you and be willing to accept help,” she said. “For a lot of women, it’s hard to do, but it helps to reach out for help. You don’t have to be Superwoman; you don’t have to face breast cancer alone.”

October was designated National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985 by the American Cancer Society and pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries, now merged with AstraZeneca, to emphasize the need for research and fundraising. It also is a time for breast cancer survivors such as Croft to raise awareness about the disease and share their stories of struggle and hope.

Shirley Foster

Shirley Foster, seated, and her oncology nurse, Susan Fitch, pose for a photo in a treatment room at Coshocton Hospital. Foster endured a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, and the message she shares with others is to stay positive.

If it weren’t for an accident she had while moving furniture last October, Shirley Foster might not be here today.

After the West Lafayette resident and former nurse dropped a television on her chest, a lump that continued to grow for several weeks prompted her to visit her doctor.

After a mammogram and biopsy, Foster found out the lump had nothing to do with her injury. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

“The lump just never went away,” said Foster, whose stylish, short-cropped hair looks more like a trendy cut than regrowth after months of chemotherapy. “I felt mad. Mad at myself, and scared.”

Today, Foster is a survivor who completed treatment in June, a journey that consisted of a mastectomy, chemotherapy every two weeks for six months and 31 days of radiation.

She has a message to share with others who receive the dreaded diagnosis: “You have to stay positive,” she said. “You’ve got to turn it over to the Lord above.”

Foster said that as a nurse, one of her biggest struggles was regret about not getting screened sooner.

“Being in the health care field, I should have done something earlier and paid attention to my body,” she said. “But you get busy in life, and you tend to say, ‘I’ll deal with that tomorrow.’ ”

Foster urges other women to do breast self exams and get mammograms. For those in Coshocton who are diagnosed with breast cancer, there are treatment options and support close to home, she said.

“The staff at the oncology department (at Coshocton Hospital) helped me stay positive. They just don’t let you get down and out. They know you on a personal level.”

Family and friends also helped Foster through the hard times, especially when she was feeling sick from chemotherapy and when she was losing her hair.

“Talk to people. Don’t be afraid to talk to family and friends and tell them how you feel. I think it’s important for people to know there is a lot of support out there,” Foster said.

Brenda Lozowski

Dr. Brenda Lozowski put off getting a mammogram as she had no risk factors and was health-conscious. Then, last October, she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Today, her goal is to emphasize the importance of screening because “cancer can happen to anybody.”

As a family physician, Dr. Brenda Lozowski has a notable perspective on the disease. Not only is she a family doctor in Coshocton who has shared a practice with her husband, Dr. David Lozowski, for 18 years, she also is a breast cancer survivor.

“As a physician, I know what it’s like when patients get the diagnosis of breast cancer. I know now on the other side how devastating it can be,” she said.

When Lozowski received the diagnosis last October of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that has spread to her liver and at least one bone, she didn’t think she would survive long. But today, following a mastectomy, microwave ablation of the liver and chemotherapy, new targeted cell therapy drugs that keep her cancer from spreading have given her hope that though her cancer is not curable, it is manageable.

“The wonderful thing is that there are treatment options available for this type of cancer. It’s often a chronic disease that can be managed,” she said. “Stage 4 breast cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.”

Like Foster, Lozowski said she also put off screening. As woman who had no risk factors and who took precautions to benefit her health, she didn’t feel there was a need to have a mammogram until after age 50, she said.

Today, her goal is to emphasize the importance of screening, because “cancer can happen to anybody.”

“I wasn’t concerned about cancer,” she said. “My message to women now is do not wait (to get screening). That’s a lesson I learned. You have to take that time to take care of yourself and have that preventative care.”

Receiving cancer care at home also was a comfort to Lozowski, who except for the liver ablation that she had at the Cleveland Clinic, had all of her treatments at Coshocton Hospital.

“We have a wonderful oncology department here. They took great care of me,” she said.

Lozowski said her faith in God, the support of family and friends and the caring community also have helped her deal with her diagnosis.

“There community has been wonderful with support. I’ve received so many cards and prayers. The support I’ve received has been such a blessing.”

It is reassuring for people who are diagnosed with breast cancer to be aware that there are a lot of treatment options available, and that when dealing with the emotions that come with the disease, there is help, Lozowski said.

“I want people to know that they don’t have to face cancer alone. There is hope out there, and that’s important to know.”