{"id":5084536,"date":"2019-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/beating-breast-cancer-a-success-story\/"},"modified":"2019-02-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-04T05:00:00","slug":"beating-breast-cancer-a-success-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2019\/02\/04\/beating-breast-cancer-a-success-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating Breast Cancer: A Success Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Annikah Darling<\/a>, CTLatinoNews.com<\/a><\/em>
\nWhen breast cancer is detected early, it saves lives. According to the American Cancer Society, Hispanic women who detect breast cancer at an early stage, at the local stage, their survival rate is 96 percent. If the cancer is detected later, in the regional stage, the survival rate drops to 85 percent. And if detected even later, in the distant stage, survival rate plummets to 32 percent. Estela Lopez was lucky to have caught her breast cancer in the first stage, and on January 15, she graduated from treatment and is now in recovery.
\nThe thought of possibly being diagnosed with breast cancer can be frightening. Doctor Andy Salner, Medical Director of the Cancer Center of the Hartford Hospital, says that the idea can be so paralyzing for some women that they simply do not get regular mammograms…Lopez was not one of those women.
\nLopez received regular mammograms. One every year. \u201cIt\u2019s just what I\u2019ve always done,\u201d says Lopez. Her mother got regular mammograms as well. Regular checkups were the norm for her. In October, however, one routine checkup wasn\u2019t quite so normal.
\n\u201cI had gone in and got my mammogram,\u201d Lopez recalls, \u201cand when they asked me to come in for a second one, the minute I saw the shadow on the sonogram [the second test was a sonogram,] I knew.\u201d
\nBut she had to wait a week to hear back from the hospital to be absolutely sure. During that time, she went on with her life. She invited her friends from Puerto Rico to stay with her, as they had been having a difficult time since hurricane Maria.
\nIt was a Friday afternoon, Lopez remembers, and she had just finished eating lunch with her friends, they were having a wonderful day, when she got the call\u2026 \u201cI didn\u2019t tell them,\u201d recalls Lopez. \u201cWe were having such a great time and it was fine. I could handle it…and like I said, I already knew.\u201d
\nLopez says that telling people was one of the hardest parts for her. She didn\u2019t want people feeling sorry for her. However, it soon became difficult to withhold the information, and once she began telling people, she was overwhelmed with love and support.
\n\u201cFinding people to help you through the process is so very important,\u201d advises Lopez.
\nDr. Salner agrees with Lopez. \u201cThe medical system can sometimes be complicated,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the Cancer Center we have navigators who will walk the patients through each step and make sure they get the treatment they need.\u201d
\nDr. Salner also considers that the daunting medical system can stand as a hurdle to regular screenings, especially for Hispanic women. This is apparent, Dr. Salner says, in the data that shows Hispanic women tend to present for care with breast cancer at a later stage.
\n\u201c[The later detection] is a conundrum,\u201d he goes on to explain, \u201cbecause we are making every effort to catch breast cancer as early as possible.\u201d
\nAs to the reasons Hispanic women generally are diagnosed during later stages, he says: \u201cMy guess is that either these women don\u2019t have as good of access to screening services, like mammography, or perhaps they don\u2019t have a primary care physician who will recommend or arrange for them to get screening, I suppose other possibilities might include language barriers that might get in the way of scheduling a mammogram, or work hours that would interfere with getting a mammogram because the mammogram facility is only open during work hours, and maybe women have child care responsibilities that interfere with their ability to get a mammogram. Other possibilities may include trust and credibility issues with medical establishments where they don\u2019t feel they have trust in the establishment to make sure that they are being cared for. Or a belief system, a kind of fatalism, that \u2018If it\u2019s gonna happen it\u2019s gonna happen, and there\u2019s nothing I can do about it. So why get a mammogram anyway?\u2019 So that kind of fatalism or belief system could be a huge reason. That and maybe fear: \u2018What will that mean for me? What will that mean for my family?\u2019 And they are scared to find out, because if they find out it may be a terrible thing. That kind of fear about breast cancer I think happens in all cultures. So I think those would be the barriers that would result in Latinos having later stages at time of presentation.\u201d
\nIn a document published in 2018 by the American Cancer Society, titled Cancer Facts and Figures for Hispanics\/Latinos, Dr. Salner\u2019s statements are confirmed. The research suggests that \u201cHispanic women are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to receive appropriate and timely breast cancer treatment, although intervention programs that help enhance communication between the surgeon, oncologist, and patient have been shown to reduce disparities.\u201d
\nDr. Salner informs that the Cancer Center does strive to enhance communication and to break down any barriers Hispanic women have in getting regular screening and any medical attention they may need.
\nIn Lopez\u2019s case, early detection quite possibly saved her life. At the very least, it made her treatment experience less painful.
\n\u201cI was in treatment with women that had much later stages breast cancer,\u201d Lopez recalls. \u201cOne woman was undergoing chemo and radiation, and the radiation hurt her so much she had to take a break. She was still there when I graduated.\u201d
\nThe later the detection and the farther along the cancer, the harder things get. In Lopez\u2019s case she says early detection was the key to being able to deal with the situation in a state \u201cas good as it could get.\u201d In total, her treatment lasted four weeks. It was no cake walk, but in tackling the problem head on, Lopez beat cancer.
\nWhen Lopez graduated from treatment she posted the following on Facebook:
\n\u201cI graduated today and even got a certificate. I successfully finished 20 sessions of radiation to my left breast to kill any remaining cancer cell that was left after a lumpectomy. I have been debating to post this on Facebook but I am doing it to help anyone out there that has to face this struggle.
\n\u201cI had several people that helped me. Yvette Melendez found me a great surgeon at Hartford Hospital. Brenda Kelley walked me through all the steps I had to take and the questions I needed to ask to make decisions. She even convinced me of keeping my daughters informed. Perhaps that was the hardest part of the process, letting family and friends know what hat was going on.
\n\u201cMy friend Dulce sent me from PR a care package with coffee, lots of chocolates and many other good things. Joyce sent me from Chicago a meditation book. Daisy gave me earrings and wonderful talcum powder.
\n\u201cThe Cancer Center is a welcoming, caring and professional place. Always felt supported and well taken care. I met a wonderful group of women there who were treated at the same hour. I called them the Breakfast Club and we hugged each other whenever one of us finished the treatment. I also took advantage of free massages and Reiki.
\n\u201cThe lesson here HAVE YOUR MAMMOGRAM.
\n\u201cMy small tumor which had not spread was caught that way. I encountered many angels during this challenge who truly helped me along the way. And of course the love of family and friends \u2026 I am truly blessed.\u201d
\nDr. Salner informs that the Cancer Center offers free mammograms to women who do not have insurance and they offer assistance to apply for Medicare. The Center also has a mobile mammogram service, where they use state-of-the-art equipment in a mobile environment, bringing mammograms to women in the community who simply can not, for whatever reason, make it to the hospital to get a screening. The Cancer Center has bilingual navigators and call receivers to assist non-English speakers as well.
\nLopez says she encountered a number of Spanish speakers throughout the process. \u201cEven the parking attendants spoke Spanish,\u201d she says. \u201cOne of the technicians didn\u2019t but she did want a recipe for beans and rice. Everyone was so nice \u2026 I gave her the recipe.\u201d
\nThroughout the experience Lopez tried to maintain a positive perspective and says every time she went into radiation she thought of her favorite painter Frida Kahlo–who painted portraits after a back injury of her nude body. \u201cShe took something painful and turned it into something beautiful,\u201d says Lopez.
\nBecause the radiation calls for patients to be vulnerable and nude as well, Lopez turned to the technician one day, and said: \u201cLook, I\u2019m Frida Kahlo!\u201d \u2026 \u201cEvery time I went in for radiation I thought of her,\u201d says Lopez.
\nKahlo became a symbol for Lopez. Her step daughter even sent her a pink tile with a picture of Kahlo in the middle. In many ways Lopez is like Kahlo, by spreading awareness and urging other women to get regular screenings in hopes to save lives, she is turning something painful, into something beautiful.
\nVisit cancer.org for more information about breast cancer<\/em>
\nTo schedule a mammogram at the Hartford Hospital Cancer Center call (860) 972-1582 to speak with Dorelly \u2013 she is bilingual and she will help to schedule. Or visit their website at hartfordhospital.org<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How one Hispanic woman used regular screening to get the jump on the 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