Today is February 4, 2022. Sounds like a perfectly normal day, but did you know that today is International Cancer Day? We are thinking especially of all the fighters today!
Back in October, we had the opportunity to interview the lovely Kirsten about her breast cancer. You can find the video here. To make our part toward cancer awareness once again on this day, the interview is also available here in written form.
What is it like to suddenly receive a cancer diagnosis?
Kirsten was young, very young for a breast cancer diagnosis. Although she had already undergone a mammogram, she discovered her breast cancer by checking her own breasts monthly. After the diagnosis came numerous tests, anxious hours of uncertainty, and finally, trust in her own recovery. Thanks to quick action, Kirsten was able to beat cancer. We spoke with Kirsten and were deeply moved by her report, which was both informative and emotional and open. We didn't want to keep that from you, so the entire interview is available here for you in the original English and in a German version to read.
1. Kirsten, please introduce yourself briefly.
My name is Kirsten Feddersen, I am originally from Denmark and currently live in New Hampshire on the East Coast of the USA. I am married to Geoff (an American), have a 10-year-old stepson, Max, and a cute puppy named Mila.
EN: 1. Kirsten, can you please introduce yourself.
My name is Kirsten Feddersen, I’m originally from Denmark and I currently live in New Hampshire on the East Coast of US. I’m married to Geoff (an American), have a 10-year old stepson, Max, and a cute puppy named Mila ☺.
2. You were diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. How old were you at the time and how was it detected.
I had just turned 41 when the breast cancer was diagnosed. It was 7 months after my first routine mammogram, and the possibility that I might have cancer was completely out of my mind. A colleague of mine had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, which reminded me to check my own breasts. Although I didn't expect to find anything because I had just had a mammogram, I found a lump in my right breast that I hadn't noticed before. It was quite large (it felt a bit like a small golf ball), so I hoped it might be a cyst or some other benign growth, as I didn't think a cancerous lump could get that big so quickly. The day before my trip to Europe, I had an appointment to have the lump examined by a doctor. I expected them to tell me it was just a harmless lump and say, "Have a good trip!" Instead, a half-hour appointment turned into 3 hours with multiple mammograms, an ultrasound, a biopsy, and a very surreal conversation with two doctors. What a day!
EN: 2. Some years ago, you were diagnosed with breast cancer. How old were you at this time? How was the cancer discoverd?
I had just turned 41 after I was diagnosed. It was 7 months after my first ever routine mammogram and the possibility that I might have cancer was the furthest thing from my mind. A colleague of mine had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and it reminded me to do a self-exam, even though I wasn’t expecting to find anything so soon after my mammogram. That’s when I found a lump in my right breast that I hadn’t noticed before. It was quite big (it felt a bit like a small golf ball) so I was hoping it might be a cyst or some other benign growth since I didn’t think it was possible for a cancerous lump to get that big that quickly. The day before I was going on a trip overseas, I had an appointment to have it examined by a doctor and I was expecting them to tell me that it was just a harmless lump and ‘have a good trip!’. Instead, a half hour appointment turned into 3 hours that included multiple mammograms, an ultrasound, a biopsy and a very surreal conversation with two doctors. What a day!
3. What happened after the diagnosis? What examinations and procedures followed?
Three days later they called me to confirm what they had told me on the day of the exam – that the biopsy results had shown that the lump was cancerous. At that time, they still didn’t have all the answers and there were still many steps to take before we had a clear picture of what needed to be done. They couldn’t tell me how aggressive the cancer was, whether it had spread, how it should be treated, or whether I would survive. But with every additional test I underwent, we got more answers to the questions. Through various tests, including CT scans, ultrasounds, and genomic tests, they determined that it was a grade 3 (aggressive) cancer that had reached Stage 2 (out of 4). This meant that although the cancer was growing very quickly, it had not spread beyond my breast. That was great news! From that point on, we were in a race against time before the cancer could spread further. So, just one month after my very first appointment to have the lump examined, I had already had my first chemotherapy treatment (out of 8). Exactly two weeks later, I lost my hair (almost all at once), and 14 weeks later, I had completed my treatment. Honestly, it was not what I had expected, but I think it is different for every patient. I lost my hair (and my eyebrows) and felt more exhausted than usual – but otherwise, life was pretty normal.
I was able to do many of the things I normally did, and the nausea immediately after chemotherapy usually went away within a day.
After I had finished chemotherapy, the next step was surgery to remove the lump. I had a so-called lumpectomy, which means that only the lump is removed instead of the entire breast (which is called a mastectomy). All the cancer cells were able to be removed from my breast – but they also discovered that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are the last stop before the cancer spreads to the rest of the body. To completely remove the cancer, they removed all my major lymph nodes in my right armpit. Fortunately, it turned out that the cancer had not yet spread any further. We caught it just in time! After surgery, the next step was radiation. The affected areas are irradiated with X-rays to kill any remaining cells. In my case, I had to go in every day for about six weeks – but it only took a few minutes each time. I got used to it and fortunately didn’t have any major side effects.
When radiation was completed in November, I started my five-year course of medication, which I have to continue for five years (or ten, if the recommendation changes over time). The medication helps prevent the breast cancer from returning. Overall, the process from diagnosis to the end of radiation therefore took about 9 months (plus the five years of medication that followed).
EN: 3. After the diagnosis, what is the procedure? What examinations do follow?
Three days later they called me to confirm what they told me on the day of the exam – that the biopsy results had shown that the lump was cancerous. At that time, they still didn’t have all the answers and there were still many steps to take before we had a clear picture of what needed to be done. They couldn’t tell me how aggressive it was, whether it had spread, how it should be treated or whether I was going to survive. But for every additional exam I completed, we got a little closer to understanding what was going on. Through various tests, including CT scans, ultrasounds and genomic tests, they determined that it was a grade 3 (aggressive) cancer, which had reached Stage 2 (out of 4). This meant that even though the cancer was growing very quickly, it did not appear to have spread beyond my breast when they found it. This was great news! Now we were in a race to reduce and remove the cancer before it spread any further. So one month after my very first appointment to have the lump examined, I had my first chemotherapy treatment (out of 8). I lost my hair (almost all at the same time) exactly two weeks later and 14 weeks later I had completed my treatment. Honestly, it was not what I expected but I think it’s different for every patient. I lost my hair (and my eyebrows) and I felt more tired than usual – but other than that life was pretty normal. I was able to do many of the things I usually do and the nausea would usually go away within a day of the treatment. After I finished chemo, the next step was surgery to remove the lump. I had a so-called lumpectomy, which means that they’re removing only the lump instead of removing the whole breast (which is called a mastectomy). They were able to remove all the cancer cells from my breast – but they also discovered that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are the last stop before the cancer spreads to the rest of your body. To remove the cancer entirely, they removed all of my major lymph nodes in my right armpit. Fortunately, it turned out that the cancer hadn’t moved any further yet. We caught it just in time! After surgery, the next step was radiation. They target your cancer site with x-rays that help kill any possible leftover cells. In my case, I had to go in every day for about six weeks – but it only took a few minutes every time. I got used to it and I didn’t have any major side effects, fortunately. When radiation was completed in November, I started the daily treatment that I need to stay on for five years (or ten, if the recommendation changes over time). This last step is daily medication that I need to take and it’s an important part of preventing the cancer from coming back. All in all, the process from diagnosis to the end of radiation took about 9 months (plus the five years of medication afterwards).
4. Can you give us an insight into your feelings at this time? What did you feel when you received the diagnosis? What thoughts were going through your head? Are there even clear thoughts? How did your friends and family react?
Cancer was and is quite a major mental challenge. Dealing with it is still ongoing today. When I think back on the whole process, the first month was the hardest part. The first day was absolutely terrifying! I remember getting in my car to drive home, but I don’t remember anything else until later that day. I was sitting in my living room, looking around the house, and wondering if I should start writing my will. My husband was away on a business trip, and I was thinking about whether he would be a widower in a year. Would I make it to 42? At that point, I didn’t know anything except that I had cancer. I didn’t know how (or when) it would end. I had to tell my parents over Skype because I live in a different country from them. And every time I told someone about it, I just couldn’t stop crying. Every conversation about it made me cry. Eventually, as I started having more examinations, tests, scans, ultrasounds, etc., I began to get a better idea of what was going on.
One of the key moments I remember was when I saw one of my doctors about three weeks after my diagnosis. We had received some new information that day, and I simply said to my doctor, “You just have to tell me that I’m going to survive this. If you tell me that I’m probably going to survive, I will do anything you ask me to do.” The doctor said, “Based on everything we’ve seen in your tests, you’re probably going to survive this.” And then I said, “Okay, then let’s get started!” After that, I started to feel less afraid and focused more on getting through the process in the best possible way. I wasn’t going to die – that was all I needed to know. I focused on maintaining a positive attitude, because it helped me reduce my stress and ultimately enabled a better treatment outcome.
EN: 4. Can you give us an insight into your feelings at this time? What is it like to get diagnosed with cancer, what thoughts rush through your mind? Are there even thoughts? How did your family, your friends react?
It was quite a mental process to go through – and it continues to this day. When I think back at the whole process, the absolute hardest part was the first month. That first day was absolutely terrifying! I remember getting in my car to drive home but I don’t remember anything else until later that day. I was sitting in my living room, looking around the house at different things and wondering if I should start writing my will. My husband was away on a business trip and I was thinking about whether he would be a widower in a year. Would I make it to 42? I didn’t really know anything at that point except that I had cancer. I didn’t know how (or when) this was going to end. I had to tell my parents by Skype because I live in a different country from them – and I just couldn’t stop crying whenever I told anyone. Every conversation I had about this made me cry. Eventually as I started to go through more exams, tests, scans, ultrasounds, etc. we started to see a more complete picture of what was going on. One of the key moments I remember was when I saw one of my doctors about three weeks after my diagnosis. We had gotten some additional answers about what was going on and I said “I just need you to tell me if you think I’m going to survive this. If you tell me I’m probably going to survive, I will do anything you ask me to do.” The doctor said “Based on everything we’ve seen in your tests, you’re probably going to survive this.” And then I said “Ok, then let’s get started!”. After that, I started being less afraid and more focused on the best possible way of getting through the process. I wasn’t going to die – that was all I needed to know. I focused on maintaining a positive attitude, which helped me reduce my stress and, ultimately, ensure a better outcome from the treatment.
It has been almost three years since I finished radiation and my life no longer revolves around cancer. I get excited about ‘normal people’ stuff and have ‘normal people’ problems. I have moments where I get frustrated by the side effects of my medication (which includes lots of hot flashes – definitely not something to look forward to) but I’m also very grateful that I’m still here. The experience has given me a good reason to reflect on my health and I’ve made some changes to my diet and habits that actually make me feel better than I did before I was diagnosed. Sometimes it feels surreal when I think about the fact that I went through all that – but I guess that’s a good sign.
5. What is your prognosis? Can the cancer return? How do you feel about that?
The cancer can return. I think this thought occupies many cancer survivors. As a cancer patient, you feel like you have no control over the cancer. It feels like being taken hostage, only the hostage-taker is invisible. It is a possibility that I and other cancer survivors have to live with for the rest of our lives, and that can really wear you down. When I began to accept that there was nothing I could do about it, I decided to focus on what I could do to make my body feel better. I started eating healthier, drinking less alcohol, making sure I always took my medication, and getting enough sleep. And when the fear creeps back in, I remind myself that I really am doing everything in my power. Once I beat cancer, I will beat it again!
EN: 5. What is your prognosis, can the cancer reoccur? How do you feel about that?
The cancer can reoccur and it’s something I think many cancer survivors think about a lot. As a cancer patient, you don’t feel like you have any control over the cancer. It feels like a hostage situation except the hostage-taker is invisible. It’s a possibility that I and other cancer survivors have to live with for the rest of our lives and it can really mess with your head. But, in my case, once I started to accept that there was nothing I could do about that, I decided to focus on what I COULD do something about. I started eating healthier, drinking less alcohol, made sure to always take my medication and made sure I got enough sleep. And when the fear starts to creep in again, I remind myself that I’m doing everything I can and that if I beat it once, I’ll beat it again!
6. What would you like to tell young women? What advice would you give them?
Breast cancer doesn’t happen to everyone. In fact, most people never get it. But it does happen. And almost always, the person it happens to never expected it. The only reason I’m still alive is because someone reminded me to check my breasts. If I hadn’t done that, the cancer would have spread to other parts of my body and my chances of survival would have been much lower. Checking your own breasts only takes five minutes and you only need to do it once a month. Set a reminder on your phone and do it while you’re in the shower. Do it for yourself and for everyone who loves you!
EN: 6. What would you like to tell young ladies? What kind of advice would you give them?
Breast cancer doesn’t happen to everyone. In fact, it doesn’t happen to most people. But it does happen. And in almost every case, the person it happens to wasn’t expecting it. The only reason I’m alive is because someone reminded me to do a self-exam. If I hadn’t done that, the cancer would have spread to other parts of my body and my chances of survival would have been a lot lower. A self-exam only takes five minutes and you only need to do it once a month. Set a reminder in your phone and do it while you’re taking a shower. Do it for yourself and for everyone who loves you!