Katie's Story of Breast Cancer after Breastfeeding
This weeks’ story comes from Katie. The story she sent in is short and simple, but so important.
For as long as I can remember I have been enamored with all things babies. Eventually, my love of babies grew into an appreciation of women and mothers and the remarkable things they do. The thought that a woman’s body was capable of growing a human and then continuing to nourish that child amazed me. This passion spilled into my career choice. I went to school for nursing and immediately fell in love with labor and delivery and made the decision to pursue a career as a Certified Nurse Midwife. I have dedicated my work life to caring for women and their babies.
After 4 years working as a midwife, it was finally my turn to be the mother and experience that bond. There was never a question in my mind as to whether I would breastfeed, and thankfully despite some minor bumps in the road my daughter happily nursed until she was two and a half. I loved the closeness it brought us. I often felt like breastfeeding could fix most anything that ailed her. My supply was plentiful and I was able to donate large amounts of milk to other babies. Breastfeeding felt like such a huge accomplishment.
My son came along and once again breastfeeding seemed to come relatively easily. I knew he was my last child and had decided I would not push him to wean. I enjoyed breastfeeding and wanted to continue as long as he was interested.
When he was 30 months old I had a breast ultrasound and mammogram due to a lump I had found. A biopsy soon confirmed the worst: breast cancer.
I was shocked. I was only 37. My children were so young. I knew breast cancer in lactating women was exceedingly rare. I breastfed for 5+ total years, which should reduce my risk. I had done so many things “right,” but that didn’t spare me from cancer.
I began to prepare for surgery. My friend took beautiful photos of my children and I. I prepared my son for the idea of weaning. Thankfully, my surgeon was extremely supportive of my desire to breastfeed up until the date of my surgery.
On 2/11/2021 I breastfed my son for the last time before heading to the hospital for my double mastectomy. Initially the expectation was that I would need only surgery for the treatment of my cancer. However, the surgical pathology was much worse than expected and in another twist of events, about 4 weeks later I started chemotherapy which was followed by radiation.
Today I am happy to say that I have no evidence of disease and require only maintenance type medications. My son’s sudden weaning went smoothly, though he will still occasionally ask about “night-nights.” It’s a strange phenomenon, having a body part that nourished your children and meant so much to you threaten your health. I’m so thankful for the time I had breastfeeding my children. Cancer has taken so much. My breasts, my hair. It cut my breastfeeding timeline with my son shorter than I would have liked, but it can’t take away the special time I had cozied up with my children nursing. Those memories. Those are mine to hold forever.
What do you think about Katie story? We think she is amazing and strong for sharing something so personal! Thanks for sharing Katie!
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