By MATT McNALLY
Guest Columnist
Just before Christmas in 2014, my wife and I received terrible news. After multiple biopsies, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. We had a nine-year-old son and a daughter just two weeks shy of her sixth birthday. As any family who has dealt with cancer can attest, your thoughts turn to the uncertainty of the future.
Starting about a year before her diagnosis, my wife had been complaining of breast pain. Her primary care provider, also a woman, refused to grant her a referral to get a mammogram because she was too young. At that time, pain was not considered a symptom of breast cancer. My wife fought for months to get a referral. Even when she did finally receive one, the first radiologist recused himself because we were family friends (I had coached his children in basketball).
When my wife finally did get her mammogram, it was negative for cancer. But it is important to understand that mammograms do not detect cancer in women with dense tissue. My wife was incredibly fortunate because after the mammogram, her radiologist recommended an ultrasound where they were ultimately able to finally detect the cancer. Catching my wife’s cancer early was key. Critically, mammograms cannot detect breast cancer through dense breast tissue, and without the ultrasound, her story could have been very different.
A number of states have created legislation to require advanced screening and notification for women with dense tissue. However, Indiana is not one of them. Indiana also ranks 43rd in the nation for breast cancer screening and is the 15th worst state for mortality due to breast cancer.
My wife elected to undergo a double mastectomy. The journey wasn’t easy, both physically and mentally. But my wife realized she could do something to help others, and in doing so, I saw how it helped her. She began making seatbelt pillows for women who had undergone breast surgery. She started with 10 and donated them to a local oncologist surgeon, then donated 20 more. Soon she started selling them online and donating one pillow for every one she sold. Slowly, something amazing happened – women about to go into surgery would message her through her Etsy shop asking her questions, and my wife unexpectedly became a resource for them.
My wife is now eight years cancer free, but she is one of the lucky ones. At the time, I did not realize how much women have to fight for their healthcare, and how much more needs to be done.
As Breast Cancer Awareness month comes to a close this October, I hope everyone will join me in committing to advocating for access to better screenings for all Hoosier women.