In honor of breast cancer awareness month, I decided to look for a book about breast cancer. After looking through several books,
I narrowed my search to memoirs about breast cancer. Faith Fighting in Pink – Breast Cancer’s Many Faces by Angela M. Thomas practically leaped from the list and onto my e-reader.
The subtitle of this work is My Journey and an Everyday Look at the Quirks of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 10-15% of all breast cancers. It is difficult to treat because unlike estrogen or progesterone positive breast cancer or even HER2+ breast cancer the cause of the cancer can’t be identified and treated with a specific drug. Only the cancer itself can be treated.
TNBC is most common in women younger than 40, who are Black, or who have a BRCA1 mutation. It is aggressive and grows quickly. TNBC is more likely to have spread by the time it is diagnosed and more likely to come back after treatment. Treating TNBC with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Chemo before surgery to shrink the tumor and learn how it responds to treatment), surgery, chemotherapy after surgery, and radiation has proven to be an effective treatment for many people.
Angela Thomas was diagnosed with Triple-negative breast cancer at 40 during the height of the COVID pandemic. Thomas was an assistant principal trying to navigate COVID safety protocols and get her three children settled into the new school year. At the time, she had been divorced for two years, but was still fiends with her ex. Her sister had been displaced by a hurricane that had also damaged the nursing home where her mother who was suffering from dementia was receiving care. Her sister complete with fur babies had moved in and they were trying to relocate their mother to a nursing home closer to Thomas’ home.
In October during her regular breast self-examination, Thomas thought she felt a lump that wasn’t there in August. She called and arranged to have her first mammogram. At her November wellness check, Thomas and her PCP reviewed the results of her mammogram which detected something abnormal. After a second mammogram and an ultrasound, she received a biopsy in December to determine if the lump was a cyst, or a benign or malignant tumor.
While awaiting the results of her biopsy, Thomas learned her mother had contracted COVID. Shortly before Christmas, she learned she had grade 3 highly aggressive cancer cells in her breast. In January, she had an MRI to help in staging her cancer to determine her treatment options and prognosis. Her mother died the same day.
Thomas was faced with planning a funeral at Christmas time during the COVID pandemic and figuring out how to tell her children who had just lost their grandmother that their mom had cancer. Up to this point only her ex-husband knew about her diagnosis. She made the decision to wait until she had all the facts and a treatment plan before telling her family and friends.
I felt an instant connection with Thomas because I also waited to tell my family and eventually only told a few friends. What sets this book apart from other breast cancer memoirs is that Thomas is so relatable. She’s not a celebrity. She doesn’t have wealthy friends who can snap their fingers and magically get her appointments at world class testing and treatment facilities. She had to wait and deal with the fear and anger that comes with not knowing and being unable to feel in charge. She also had a family to take care of and a full-time job.
She takes us step by step through diagnosis and treatment with courage and a wicked sense of humor. During treatment you have to laugh, and life goes on. The world doesn’t stop and as rude as that might seem when we feel sick or scared it’s what happens. Thomas has helpful hints to help you through. She also has a commonsense approach to illness that starts with being prepared before we get sick.
It’s a how-to for living as much as it is a how-to for navigating your breast cancer journey. I highly recommend this book for every woman or man. It’s a quick read that will help you get your affairs in order before you or your loved ones have to make healthcare or end of life decisions. It will also help you develop a plan of action for your treatment if you are diagnosed with breast cancer or another serious illness. In addition, there are helpful tips about how to be an ally for someone going through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
One in eight women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis at some point in her life. If not you, then it might be a friend or loved one. Be informed and be prepared.
Photos for this article were taken from the internet with no intention of copyright infringement.