Bergen women tell the story of breast cancer survivors

His team:
Dr. Erika Brinkmann, Director of Breast Surgery
Dr. Raimonda Goldman, hematologist oncologist
Dr. Benjamin Rosenbluth, Chief of Radiation Oncology
Dr. William Ko, radiologistBreast Imaging Center

Laura Ayala could not have been more surprised when a breast cancer was diagnosed early February 2014, during a routine mammogram revealing "a little shadow". His doctor, Dr. William Ko, suggested that he undergo a biopsy. "I said, Do whatever you have to do to change your mind," she recalls, grateful that even after leaving the area, she returned to Holy Name every year.

On the same day as her biopsy, Ayala was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. A lifelong softball player, the 52-year-old sports mother of a teenager immediately channeled her competitive spirit. "I did not panic, I had a lot of questions. I decided that I would not let that beat me, "she says. In fact, far from having left her defeated, she intended to start the games of her softball team in the playoffs. "I had two questions: will I lose my hair? And when can I play softball again?

Ko described her tumor as the size of a fingernail but, because of her type and size, Ayala required four chemotherapy treatments and six weeks of radiotherapy as a result of her lumpectomy at the end of the month of March. "I did not have time to sulk. When I learned that I had breast cancer, I just wanted to finish it. After the surgery, waiting for the test results for two weeks to see if I had to do chemotherapy was the hardest part. It was a blow to me because I already knew what the chemo would look like for me, "she said, remembering how emotionally difficult it was to lose her hair.

She credits her team with a positive attitude and quick recovery, as well as his wife, Teresa Vollrath, and her parents, who accompanied her with each treatment. Keeping his work routine unchanged also helped. "When my colleagues would ask me," You do not want to go home? "I just said," No, I'm doing my routine, "says Ayala, manager of international and domestic transfers.

"She handled it in a really inspiring way. She was very positive and just continued her life and is committed to following the orders of her doctors, "says Nancy Quinones, a friend, who is the father of a son with Ayala, who she has known for 25 years. "Laura did not let her do it. She just spent time looking after things she liked to do.

Better yet, Ayala managed to get the team to play softball. "To be able to play, you have to have played three games before the playoffs, so I'll be in a heat," she said.

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Yeydi Perdomo

Hackensack University Medical Center

His team:
Dr. Leslie Montgomery, surgical oncologist, chief of breast cancer surgery
Dr. Deena Grahammedical oncologist
Dr. Loren GodfreyRadiation Oncologist
Dr. Kari Colen, plastic surgeon

Yeydi Perdomo (left) with Dr. Leslie Montgomery (Photo courtesy of The Valley Hospital)

Yeydi Perdomo, wife and mother of a 6 year old, began undergoing routine mammography at the age of 40 years recommended. At 42, she missed her annual mammogram in January and felt "something odd" during the shower on a Sunday in August. "I called on Tuesday and as soon as I told them I had missed my mammogram, they immediately put me in touch with a nurse." Her mammogram and biopsy were done two days later.

Perdomo was diagnosed with stage 2 HER2-positive breast cancer in the left breast, a more aggressive type of cancer that had spread to the armpit lymph nodes. HER2-positive breast cancer accounts for about 20% of newly diagnosed breast cancers. A protein on the surface of the cancer cell accelerates growth, but this type of breast cancer may respond well to preoperative chemotherapy. She spent five months chemo-overloaded with two antibodies designed to attack her HER2 receptors and maximize the chances of turning lymph nodes into cancer negatives, avoiding complete dissection of the lymph nodes.

"Once Dr. Montgomery explained the situation to me, it was not hard to wait and let the tumors contract," says Perdomo, human resources manager.

Even though the majority of patients may have lumpectomy and radiation, "depending on the size of the breast and multiple tumors in different quadrants of the breast, we can not remove everything and leave it with something acceptable. "says Montgomery. "We knew we had to do a mastectomy and choose a nipple-sensitive bilateral procedure because it required a smaller incision. We now know that the risk of recurrence in the nipple is very low. Although this does not suit everyone, we ask ourselves more and more often: "Why would not we do that?" Explain the surgeon about the most aesthetically appealing option.

After a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, Perdomo reflects on his journey. Passing through this "feeling is like an accomplishment," she says. "I do not let him determine my life. I believe in God and it's great to have the right team of doctors. On the basis of the results of my test, Dr. Montgomery made the right choice by recommending a mastectomy. If she had just recommended lumpectomy, I would still have cancer cells. "

"It was difficult at first to hear that your wife had cancer, but with the help of the Hackensack doctors, you felt that everything was going to be fine," said Ricardo Vargas, a firefighter. who served with the late Paterson. Department for almost 13 years. "We went to Disney World a month after his last chemotherapy treatment. It was a great opportunity to stop thinking about anything and spending time with our son. The chemo is completely finished for a year now, but she continues to be vaccinated every three weeks. "

Follow-up appointments, a daily estrogen inhibitor and regular mammograms are all part of Perdomo's predictable future, but in just a few years Montgomery hopes to mark his patient's fifth birthday, free of cancer.

Alexandra Dzurenko

His team:
Dr. Laura Klein, Medical Director of Valley Hospital Hospital
Dr. Chad DeYoung, Medical Co-Director, Radiation Oncology Department

Alexandra Dzurenko (center) with her daughters Ariana (left) and Julia (right) (Photo courtesy of Alexandra Dzurenko)

During the summer of 2015, Alexandra Dzurenko would probably never have dreamed of soon becoming a breast cancer spokesperson for The Valley Hospital. "Look for my name and" breast cancer "and you will see," says the woman and mother of two teenage girls.

Dzurenko, a 49-year-old Pfizer leader, was not scheduled to spend her annual mammogram until November when, during her regular gynecological examination, the nurse practitioner discovered a mass on her right breast. "I was not too worried because I'm a healthy and very active runner, but I agreed to have a diagnostic mammogram confirming a stage 1A tumor," she says.

"I think it was a week before my birthday. I went home one day and I learned that she had stage 1 breast cancer, "recalls Ariana, Dzurenko's daughter, who was starting her first year of studies. secondary school. "I knew it would not be deadly, but I did not know how it would affect my family, so it made me very nervous and upset, and it affected me a lot."

Dzurenko called Valley on Monday and made an appointment with Dr. Laura Klein, Director of the Breast Center, on Thursday. "I spent at least two hours there," she says. "She explained that their protocol, when diagnosed with breast cancer, is to undergo an MRI, which led to the diagnosis of a second more aggressive tumor in my left breast."

Incredibly, without Valley's MRI, her left breast might not have been treated because she did not show up on a mammogram and there was no visible evidence of stage 1 swelling. The discovery of this second tumor was devastating, "recalls Dzurenko.

Dzurenko had a bilateral lumpectomy in early October to remove the cancer, took a Friday for an operation and returned to work on Monday. In mid-November, she began 35 radiation cycles five days a week for seven weeks. "The biggest challenge was to be tired and do it at a hectic time of year, during the holidays," she says. "I finished the treatments on January 8th and I cried on the last day. Valley staff had become an important part of my life. "

In the absence of cancer for three years this month, Dzurenko alternates a mammogram and an MRI every six months, consults his oncologist twice a year, does an annual medical checkup with his breast surgeon and will continue to take a daily dose of Tamoxifen to reduce risk of recurrence for 10 years.

"I say to people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer," It's gone, but it will be a process to make it happen, "she says.

Maria Ramos Lynch

His team
Dr. Violet Merle McIntosh, Section Head, Breast Surgery
Sara Alter, medical assistant, breast surgery
Dr. Jill Morrisononcologist
Dr. Mei ZhangRadiation Oncologist

Maria Ramos Lynch (Photo: courtesy of the hospital and Englewood Medical Center)

Maria Ramos Lynch, Executive Director of Economy Enterprises for 25 years, says that the day she learned that she was suffering from stage 2 triple negative breast cancer is "an experience that changes the "and congratulates the hospital staff and the Englewood Medical Center for having" managed everything ". They made all the arrangements, everything, "she says. "Without them, I would have been lost."

Although the 54-year-old woman has no family history of breast cancer and is undergoing an annual mammogram, a right breast cancer breast was diagnosed at the end of August. 2017, three months before the next annual mammogram. "I noticed a visible lump in the shower and the sensation was slightly different," says Lynch.

She went to see her gynecologist and "he was worried. He immediately sent me to Englewood and they did a biopsy that morning, "said Lynch, adding that the results of his test had arrived within 15 minutes.

Finding the size through self-examination has proven to be an incredible chance because triple negative breast cancer is more aggressive than other types of breast cancer and is more likely to spread. After a battery of tests including blood tests, scans, ultrasounds and mammograms, Lynch met with Dr. Violet Merle McIntosh, who explained her strategy.

Lynch started 20 weeks of chemotherapy in November to successfully reduce the size of her tumor before surgery, then 33 radiation treatments over six weeks, starting the month after her operation.

"I felt helpless," says Sergeant Craig Lynch, a 27-year-old patrol sergeant, a 28-year-old veteran of the 28-year-old Bogota Police Department. "I served in the military career and I consider myself an alpha-male, but I felt that I could not do anything."

"Chemotherapy has its ups and downs, but I did not want to let myself down," says Maria. "The Englewood team became my extended family while I was going through this ordeal. They were so encouraging, made all the arrangements. I just had to introduce myself.

Lynch will return to the hospital every three months for blood tests and mammograms, then every six months, then every five years. "Because of my type of cancer, there is no medicine to take," she says. "Chemotherapy and radiation kill just about everything."

"She has such strength," says Craig. "She just kept going, kept working and taking care of the family. She never felt sorry for herself. Not once. "

The mother of three recognizes that her family has helped her in her journey against breast cancer. "They are my life and they have been my support and my strength," she says. "My husband has never missed a treatment or a chemotherapy procedure. He was at my side every step of the way. "

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