Not leaving her health to chance

How an annual mammogram caught one woman’s cancer at just the right time

Article Provided by Sanford Health

Going to the doctor is becoming pretty routine for Kim Erickson. The 50-year-old Frazee, Minn., woman has just completed her fourth chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. This is the start of a long road for her and her family, one that will include 12 more weeks of chemo followed by 35 radiation sessions. She has already lost her hair and will feel more nausea and fatigue as the treatments progress.

But she’s not complaining. She counts herself as lucky. Kim was adamant about receiving routine mammograms, and thanks to her vigilance, her breast cancer was caught at stage 1A.

“I didn’t want to gamble with my health,” says Kim. “And that’s what it would have been if I didn’t get screened. A gamble. I was within two weeks of when I got my mammogram last year, and I can’t help thinking about what would have happened if I had put it off a few months. How much would it have progressed?”

A different kind of cancer

Kim is especially fortunate to have caught her cancer as early as she did. She was diagnosed with a less common form known as triple negative breast cancer.

“When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, we check her hormone receptor status,” says Mark Gitau, MD, medical oncologist at Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center. “There are two hormones and one growth factor that typically contribute to the spread of breast cancer: estrogen, progesterone and the growth factor known as HER2. But in Kim’s case, her cancer is not influenced by any of these. So we call it a triple negative diagnosis.”

This diagnosis means that Kim is not eligible for a lot of the standard treatment options.

“Normally we could do some anti-hormonal therapy,” says Dr. Gitau. “However since Kim’s tumor isn’t affected by hormones, this would do her no good. Chemo is her only option.”

Trusted care

Although Kim’s treatment options are limited, she feels grateful that the staff at RMCC was there to walk her through everything.

“I cannot say enough good things about them,” says Kim. “One of the first things they told me was to not start looking stuff up on the Internet. They gave me a few quality sites so I could read up and be informed, but they wanted me to know that if I had questions, I should ask them and not some random person in a chat room.”

And there is no better team to ask. Edith Sanford Breast Center in Fargo has been recognized as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence in the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers Program. Sanford also is proud to be one of the first in the nation to receive the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers accreditation. Having both of these prestigious awards is rare in the U.S.

“These accreditations mean our patients are receiving care from a top-quality multidisciplinary team,” says Dr. Gitau. “Every member of our team is an expert in their field. We all work together to provide patients with the care they need.”

“It’s wonderful that this type of high level care is available right here in Fargo,” remarks Kim.

Learning more

Kim and her family are also considering learning more about what could have caused her cancer to occur.

“We have been thinking about doing genetic testing,” says Kim. “I have two daughters in their twenties, and I think they are curious to see if they could end up having this as well. But it’s a big decision to make. Do you want to know or do you just want to live your life?”

And while Kim’s family considers genetic testing, they are all very thankful that Kim had one test in particular.

“I want to encourage every eligible woman to get a mammogram and to get one every year,” states Kim. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t.”

Talk to your primary care provider and schedule your mammogram today.

1

Planning a service is a lot of work.

There are a lot of details involved in planning a funeral service. In addition to selecting a day, time and place for the service, there are many, many more decisions that need to be made. A casket, vault and flowers are some of the things that have to be chosen along with type of service preference. Writing an obituary is another task funeral directors assist families with. We also help families design a service folder, create video tributes to memorialize their loved one and coordinate special requests for luncheons or dinners following the service as well. Our Celebration of Life Center offers luncheon/dinner space up to 150 people and our spacious chapel has seating for over 250.

2

The funeral is not paid for by Social Security or Veterans Affairs.

The family may be entitled to some benefits from Social Security or the VA, but those are typically not given to the funeral home, they are given directly to the family after they have applied. There is a one-time payment of $255 that may be paid to a spouse or eligible child after an application is made to Social Security. As of July 7, 2014, the burial allowance from the VA for a non-service-connected death is $300 and $2,000 for a death related to military service. For more information visit www.va.gov or www.ssa.gov, or call your local office.

3

Power of Attorney ends at death.

Many people are not aware that their rights as power of attorney end when the person dies. If probate is required, the person appointed by the court is in charge of the finances. For smaller estates (under $50,000) there can be other options. Any authorization forms, e.g. an authorization for cremation, would need to be signed by the legal next-of-kin. A person may also leave a writing specifying instructions for her/his funeral arrangements. This could take several forms. It is important the instructions are made known so that they may be acted upon at the time of death. Instructions do no good if they are not found until a month after death. The instructions could be left with the funeral home. We would be pleased to assist with this.

4

The funeral home does not issue death certificates.

The funeral director files the application for a death certificate with the state in which the death occurred and orders copies for the family. It is also sent to the doctor who will submit the cause of death. Typically, it takes about seven to ten business days from the date of death to receive the certified copies. This is important to keep in mind when trying to attend to a loved one’s estate, because many organizations will require a copy.

5

There are no extra charges from the funeral home if a loved one dies away from home.

As long as we are called first, rather than a funeral home in the area where the person passed away, there are no additional service charges, only the cost of the transportation. Boulger Funeral Home is a member of Selected Independent Funeral Homes (member by invitation only) and after we are contacted, we call another funeral home that has met the same rigorous selection criteria to assist us with the transportation and preparation work. We work with them to bring the person home as quickly as possible.

A lot of things can be done in

advance.

Prearranging can relieve a lot of stress for the loved ones making arrangements and can provide peace of mind for the person who has things in order. It is very common for people to make an appointment to sit down with one of our funeral directors and go over their wishes.

Some people also choose to prefund during this arrangement conference. Prefunding is setting aside money in a burial trust or insurance policy to be used when the death occurs. At Boulger Funeral Home, if the service is prefunded, we will guarantee the prices on our services and merchandise. This means we guarantee the interest that accrues on the account will cover the price increases that occur due to inflation, so there won’t be additional charges when the death occurs.

Please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions you may have. Our team of five Licensed Funeral Directors would be happy to assist you in any way we can.

For more information,

or to receive a “Free Guide to Pre-Planning” please feel free to call, email at info@boulgerfuneralhome. com or visit our website at www.boulgerfuneralhome.com.

Michele Walloch, Funeral Director at Boulger Funeral Home