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By Harrah’s Little Black Dress: One Survivor’s Story
In 2008 alone, an estimated 250,230 American women were diagnosed with breast cancer. That same year, an estimated 40,480 American women were expected to die from that same disease.*
While these figures are staggering, there is hope. At this time, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, including Paducah Parenting & Family publisher Karen Hammond.
Join Karen in supporting the American Cancer Society at the first Little Black Dress Party hosted by Harrah’s Metropolis, Starview Winery, Harrah’s Metropolis iList Paducah and Electric 96.9. For just $20, enjoy an unforgettable evening at Harrah’s with wine tasting, upscale appetizers, live music and dancing — all to benefit the American Cancer Society.
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| Karen Hammond, Paducah Parenting & Family |
"You Have Breast Cancer"
Karen first heard these words at the young age of 28.
"I had a small lump appear on my left breast, and at first the doctors just thought it was a blocked mammary gland. I had a young daughter and had stopped breast feeding her only three years earlier," Karen recalls. "The lump didn’t go away, so they decided to perform a couple of needle biopsies of it. To the shock of my young female doctor, the results came back positive for cancer, and she ordered a large number of follow-up biopsies."
None of Karen’s additional tests showed cancer, so the surgeons elected to perform a lumpectomy to confirm their original diagnosis.
The oncologists were concerned because of the size of the lump and the type of cells they had seen in the original biopsy. They told Karen that if the whole lump was cancer, she probably had less then two years to live.
They advised her to have both breasts removed immediately.
A Difficult Decision
With two small children at the time, Karen was devastated by the news that her life might be cut short by cancer. She decided to have the lump removed immediately but not to have a double mastectomy until further tests had been performed.
The surgeons not only took out the lump but quite a lot of the surrounding tissue. Karen was left with a long scar on her breast and an indentation, which remain to this day.
So Far, Cancer Free!
Karen had many more biopsies but was very fortunate to never again test positive for cancer.
"Although I had mammograms and other tests every six months for many years, I have been cancer-free ever since," she says. "The work and research of the American Cancer Society is the most important thing I can support as a cancer survivor. It is my hope that through the work of the ACS, women just like me never have to hear the words: ‘You have two years to live.’"
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
For more information on breast and other cancers, their causes, risk factors, prevention and treatment visit cancer.org.
*Sources: American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2008; American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2007-2008
