Nancy Ott's Story
"A local doctor told my family I had a few months to live…God has given me almost five years since that day."
Fibro-cystic breast disease is what they called the many little lumps in my breasts. “Keep checking them and have mammograms,” they told me. So I did. Some of the lumps were painful and it wasn’t always easy to examine my breasts. Mammograms were not fun either. But I did what I was supposed to do, just like a good girl.
One day, looking at my breasts in the mirror as I got out of the shower revealed an indentation under my left breast; I knew this wasn’t good. I had just had a mammogram and was told it was fine. Nevertheless, I made another appointment with my doctor, and after the examination he said everything was as it was the last time. I said, “Let me sit up because there is an indentation under one breast.” As soon as he saw this, he left the room only to bring back a surgeon with a needle whereupon he drew nothing from the location. I was told I needed to have a biopsy as soon as possible.
In a matter of a couple weeks I had the biopsy, which revealed a small cancerous tumor. And in another couple of weeks, I had a mastectomy where a second small cancerous tumor was found as well. A number of lymph nodes were removed and were found to be clear. I was sent home to heal and told I was cured.
This was January, 1990. The following year, I had reconstructive surgery, including having had my right breast removed and silicone implants put in place. Of course, that was the year of the big ruckus over silicone implants, and I had lots of advice from friends, family and complete strangers. My doctor assured me there was no problem and there hasn’t been. I just wish I was as lucky with the cancer.
January, 2004: I had difficulty breathing. I thought I just had some kind of bronchial infection. But a chest x-ray revealed spots and a fluid build-up in my lungs. My doctor told me I had lung cancer. What a shock! I wasn’t a smoker. My 1990 doctors had told me my breast cancer had been cured. What’s going on? Almost immediately, I began seeing an oncologist where she did more thorough testing with the CT scans, bone scans, PET scans, MRI scans, bone biopsies and yes, I was at stage 4 breast cancer. She told me I had two years to live. I went home and wrote my obituary and being a pastor, wrote my funeral service. My husband and I had our wills drawn up and other end-of-life documents put together.
Treatment began. The next day I contracted pneumonia and was down and out for three months. A local doctor told my family I only had a few months to live, recommended I not continue with chemo, and wanted hospice to come in. Well, she was wrong. And I was glad she was because God has given me almost five years since that awful first day. I had 19 chemo treatments at three week intervals and though I lost my hair and had problems with my nails, chemo became my security blanket. So I was a bit dismayed when my doctor took me off chemo. However, I’ve been off chemo for almost four years and just now my tumor numbers are growing. My prayer is another round of chemo will give me more time to watch my grandchildren grow and more time with my husband, and more time just to enjoy life. I thank God for all the research done for breast cancer, yet I pray for a cure for cancer in all its forms and hope that it is so in my lifetime, or at least in my children’s and grandchildren’s lifetimes.
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