Before her breast cancer diagnosis, it had been several years since Terri Conrad-Linka last received a mammogram. The 51-year old Greencastle resident admits that she had not been as vigilant about her breast health as she should have been.
A lesion on Terri’s left nipple had been disappearing and reappearing for about a year by the time she visited her family doctor in December 2019.
“Going into that appointment, I honestly did not think that it was breast cancer,” said Terri. “My physician, however, immediately thought there was a good chance I had breast cancer. She moved quickly to set me up for a mammogram, and then got me to see Dr. Plzak at WellSpan Breast Care.”
Terri has lost both her father to renal cancer and her brother to pancreatic cancer, so her diagnosis was particularly worrisome for her.
“There is a lot of cancer in my family, but no cancer survivors, so I was terrified,” recalled Terri. “The first thing I thought about was my husband and our 10-year old daughter. I thought about everyone else, and it was hard to watch my husband worry about me.”
Terri’s mind was put at ease, though, by her treatment team at WellSpan Breast Care, who assured her that she would be taken care of.
“I am beyond thankful for everyone at WellSpan, who were so reassuring throughout my journey,” said Terri. “I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Plzak and her team. They were very informative, and equally as compassionate. As scary as this was, I wouldn’t have wanted to go through it with anyone else.”
Catherine Plzak, M.D., a surgeon at WellSpan Breast Care laid out a treatment plan for Terri, which would include a mastectomy of the left breast. Terri instead decided to have a double mastectomy.
Terri is now cancer-free. She has undergone reconstructive surgery, performed by Wayne Ledinh, M.D.
“Removing the cancer is obviously the top priority, but there is such an emotional level when finding out you need to have a mastectomy,” said Terri. “It is so reassuring to know that you can look just like your pre-cancer self, if not even better. Feeling good about yourself is such a big part of recovery, and he really did such good work.”
“A mastectomy is a difficult decision for many women facing breast cancer,” said Dr. Ledinh. “I work very closely with the breast surgeons to start reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy to improve the final cosmetic result, reduce additional surgeries, and to allow women to wake up from surgery and retain their femininity with at least the start of a breast.”
“Early detection of breast cancer can help improve the quality of life for patients, giving them more treatment options, which are less invasive, less disfiguring and less toxic with fewer long-term complications,” said Dr. Plzak. “Women need to become familiar with the usual way their breasts look and feel, and report any changes. WellSpan is constantly investing in the latest technology to improve the outcomes for our patients and stay a healthy step ahead of breast cancer.”
Terri now hopes her story can be a reminder to others to get regular screenings for breast cancer. Terri often thinks about how different her life could be if she hadn’t talked to her doctor.
“If I hadn’t have gone to get that mammogram, my story could have ended up completely different,” said Terri. “The cancer could have spread to my lymph nodes. I’m all over my friends now about getting them, as well as my family members. It’s just so important.”
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Every year, the month of October is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to raise awareness about the disease.
One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Aside from skin cancers, it is the most common cancer in American women, with more than 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the country. While less common, a man’s breast cells and tissue can also develop cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, when detected early, the five-year survival rate is 99 percent.
Early detection includes regular clinical breast exams and mammograms. It is recommended that women 40 and older receive a mammogram every one or two years.
WellSpan provides comprehensive programs and services to help women keep up with issues impacting their breast health, including 3D mammography, breast ultrasounds and MRI’s, biopsies, and plastic and reconstructive surgery.
For more information on breast care services offered at WellSpan, visit WellSpan.org/BreastCare.