Surviving Breast Cancer

{ HEALTH } SURVIVING BREAST CANCER

Three Bergenites share their personal stories of diagnosis, treatment—and hope.

By Darius Amos

The numbers are jarring. According to the National Cancer Institute, every 12 minutes a woman in the U.S. dies from breast cancer, and one of every eight women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in her life. Even men face a 1-in-833 lifetime risk of getting breast cancer. But as grim as those statistics sound, there’s another side to the story.

The disease’s overall death rate has decreased by 1 percent per year from 2013 to 2018, says the nonprofit organization breastcancer.org. That promising sign is attributed to better treatment and earlier detection. And what empirical data doesn’t show is the positive impact of hope, the words of encouragement from supporters and survivors that tell patients they are not alone. To commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month this month, BERGEN spoke to three breast-cancer patients, each of whom shared a story of adversity, resolve and courage.

NEVER TOO YOUNG

Samantha Idan, 31, Englewood

Diagnosed: July 2019

Cured of childhood cancer (Wilms tumor) around age 5, Idan knew that she was twice as likely than others to get a new cancer as she grew older, but she didn’t realize it would happen in her 20s. In summer 2019, Idan was in Israel dressing for a friend’s wedding when she happened to feel a lump in her right breast. She went on to enjoy the wedding, but when the then-28-year-old returned home, she found that her nipple was also inverted and immediately did more research. “I read that if [a lump is] coupled with an inverted nipple, you should be checked,” she says. Her worst fears were confirmed: A subsequent ultrasound, mammogram and biopsy were positive for breast cancer, and that wasn’t all. She told her oncologist she had “some radiating back pain, and she immediately sent me for a CT scan, which confirmed I had metastasis to my bones.” Diagnosed with triple-positive stage IV invasive ductal carcinoma, Idan recalls “thinking that I was weeks or months from death.”

After discussing options with her breast oncologist, Idan chose the most aggressive treatment: six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, followed by a bilateral mastectomy with lymph node removal in January 2020. After three months of healing, she began 40 rounds of radiation—30 to her upper right chest and the remainder to spots along her spine, iliac bones and sternum. “The recovery for this was pretty difficult for me both mentally and physically because so much pressure is put on women to be a certain way or look a certain way,” she says. The last of the “active” treatments was administered in June 2020, and she’s been on maintenance treatment ever since. The mother of one has also had follow-up surgeries: A kyphoplasty (in which a special cement is injected to restore the position of damaged vertebrae) to relieve back pain was done in September 2020, and her ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed in August 2021. “While this was not necessary from a cancer standpoint, it was necessary for my mental health,” she says. “For most of treatment, but especially during chemo, I went into survival mode, or robot mode as I refer to it,” Idan recalls. “This wasn’t a decision I made or a coping strategy but more a way of my brain protecting me from the flood of feelings. I would go through the weeks and months, and they all felt like they blurred together. I did what the doctors told me to do when they told me to do it, and somehow made it through. “The emotional aspect of this is still hard for me to talk about because I haven’t figured it all out,” says Idan. “But that’s OK, because there is no guidebook or instruction manual. I take it day by day and am thankful when I wake up to see another one.”

SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER

The following are symptoms but do not necessarily indicate the presence of breast cancer. Do not panic, but contact your doctor if you exhibit any of these:

n Lump or bump in breast.

Breast cancer can cause lumps in the breast, though many bumps are caused by cysts and fibrocystic breast condition.

n Thickening of the skin.

Skin in the breast area that looks or feels thicker than it normally would, or skin that feels like a ridge of tissue could be a sign of breast cancer.

n Dimpling of the skin.

Sometimes compared with the texture and appearance of an orange peel, dimpling can be a sign of an uncommon inflammatory breast cancer.

n Redness in the nipple

area. Red or purple color spread over a part of the breast may indicate inflammatory breast cancer.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

IT’S A GUY THING TOO James Keegan, 73,

Northvale

Diagnosed:

May 2013

Something just wasn’t right when Keegan’s wife, Pat, felt a hard, pea-sized lump in his left breast in early May 2013. Believing it was neither an ingrown hair nor a pimple, the then-64-year-old father of two contacted his primary care physician, who ordered a mammogram that came up inconclusive. But a biopsy performed the same day was positive for early-stage breast cancer—a disease Keegan knew little about, particularly in men. What he and his wife did know was that he would have to treat it immediately. “Many men have an ‘I’ll deal with it later’ attitude, but it’s the first time I acted on something so fast,” Keegan says. So, by late May, Keegan (who had been laid off from a full-time job a year earlier and was still seeking new employment) had already consulted two surgeons before having a mastectomy to remove his left breast and several lymph nodes. When tested, the nodes revealed that the cancer had not spread beyond the original location. In addition, a genetic exam for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes came back negative.

Keegan’s post-surgery treatment included a year of targeted chemotherapy, which concluded in August 2014, and a switch to a healthier lifestyle. Overweight when diagnosed, Keegan started a balanced diet en route to losing almost 80 pounds. He also learned to de-stress through exercise and activity; he believes the pressure of being unemployed may have contributed to his cancer. And at the same period Keegan was on track toward better health, he finally had time and felt better to talk to others about his battle—and helping educate other men about breast cancer.

“Initially, we only told our sons and closest friends about my disease,” says Keegan, now 73. “Having a disease commonly associated with women can leave a man with a sense of humiliation, and almost everything out there about breast cancer addresses women having it. But there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” To reverse that, Keegan works closely with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Real Men Wear Pink and the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, among other groups, to raise awareness. “In joint efforts, we will end the stigma of men getting breast cancer and ultimately make more men’s birthdays happen.”

GOOD GENES NO GUARANTEE Beth Ann BernaldoLamboy, 50, Saddle Brook Diagnosed: December 2019

This mother of three had been a model of ideal health up to age 48. She was at a healthy weight, didn’t smoke and had neither a family history of nor any genetic markers for breast cancer.

“I kept up with regular mammograms and got ultrasounds too,” she says, adding that an ultrasound in June 2019 came back clear. But five months after that test, Bernaldo-Lamboy, a clerical associate at Hackensack University Medical Center, noticed what she described as a “dimple, a subtle indentation on the side” of her left breast during a self-examination. By December, a series of diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds and other tests came back positive. Rather than a lump or mass, an MRI revealed cancer that was growing in strands toward the back of the breast, making it difficult to detect by touch.

“I cried for five minutes,” she recalls, “but gathered myself and then called my husband, who freaked out. I knew I had to navigate through it, think of my next steps and be proactive. Being in healthcare for 20 years, I knew how to get things done.” Bernaldo-Lamboy opted for a double mastectomy, performed in February 2020, “for my own sanity,” she says, because cancer in her right breast “could’ve happened later,” and she didn’t want to go back for a second operation. Following the procedure, she required six weeks of radiation to ensure the cancer was eliminated. “Because of COVID, my husband couldn’t join me for treatments—that part was surreal,” Bernaldo-Lamboy says. “He was upset and scared, but I had to be positive for him and my kids.” Reconstructive and cosmetic procedures followed, as did a bout with the coronavirus, but Bernaldo-Lamboy says she is almost as good as new—she currently deals with and manages lymphedema in her left arm. The condition, marked by swelling, is a known risk when multiple lymph nodes are removed, but Bernaldo-Lamboy recognizes that the outcome could have been worse. “You have to be in tune with your body,” she says. “My dimple was subtle, but I knew it wasn’t right. If you see something, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor. Remember, it’s not always something that you can feel. And if you’re not comfortable with a response, you shouldn’t be afraid to push and advocate for yourself.”

BUSTING 5 BREAST-CANCER MYTHS

Separating fact from fiction has become increasingly difficult because of rumor mills fueled by both word of mouth and online discussions. Knowing the truth, however, is imperative when it comes to one’s health, and seeking advice from a medical professional is still the best course of action. BERGEN spoke with Jill Morrison, M.D., medical director and breast cancer specialist at Englewood Health’s infusion center and partner at Hematology Oncology Physicians of Englewood, who debunked five common myths associated with the disease. Here’s what we learned:

Myth 1: I will not get breast cancer because it does not run in my family.

While having a family history of breast cancer puts a person at higher risk of developing the disease, “the BRCA gene only amounts to around 5 percent of all breast cancer cases,” Dr. Morrison explains. “The vast majority, about 95 percent, are sporadic cases.” Those who do carry the gene mutation are more likely to develop breast cancer, she adds, stressing the need for early testing among those who have a family history of the disease. Families often share the same environment, lifestyle and food—factors that can make people more susceptible to developing cancer.

Myth 2: Breast cancer always develops first as a lump you can feel.

A self-examination or visit to a doctor’s office can reveal the presence of a lump, but breast cancer doesn’t necessarily start from something you can feel. “We can only feel certain abnormalities: How deep the lesion is and the shape of the breast can determine whether we feel a lump,” Dr. Morrison says. Mammograms as well as ultrasound and MRI are the best tests for early detection, as radiologists can determine if calcifications are suspicious or benign. “Testing can also find nodules and lumps that are smaller than what fingers can feel,” she adds.

Myth 3: Breast cancer only occurs in older, middle-aged women.

According to the National Cancer Institute, a woman’s likelihood of developing breast cancer increases as she ages (2.4 percent of women age 50 to 60 years will get it, compared with 0.49 percent for the 30-to-40 bracket), but that doesn’t preclude others from getting the disease. “It is a disease of the aging population; however, breast cancer in the younger patients is often more aggressive,” says Dr. Morrison, noting that she has seen patients as young as 16 and many others in their 20s. “There’s no such thing as being too young to have breast cancer. As the environment changes, so too is the age in which people get it.” Though there are fewer cases, men can develop breast cancer too—roughly 2,700 new cases each year, according to the American Cancer Society. “We test and treat men exactly the way we test and treat women,” she says, reminding everyone, men and women, who has a family history to get evaluated.

Myth 4: People who live a healthy lifestyle will not get breast cancer.

An individual who follows a balanced diet, exercises regularly and is in general good health decreases his or her chances of developing breast cancer, but doing so doesn’t eliminate the possibility. “We still don’t know all the reasons how and why breast cancer can start, so we can’t rule anyone out,” Dr. Morrison says. “A non-smoker, for example, can still develop lung cancer. So the best thing you can do to avoid breast cancer is to decrease the risk and odds, and that’s by being health-conscious and getting tested regularly.”

Myth 5: Wearing a bra or using birth control leads to breast cancer.

Wearing a bra or using antiperspirants do not lead to the development of breast cancer. “None of the localized issues are associated with risk—there is nothing that people can do to their body in this way that can lead to breast cancer,” Dr. Morrison says. The use of birth control and reproductive support products boost estrogen, a hormone that the Susan G. Komen Foundation states is linked to increased risk of breast cancer in women after menopause. “We are concerned about that,” she says, but the medications themselves have “never been proven to increase risk of breast cancer.”

CHEF’S DELIGHT

When COVID landed more Americans in the kitchen, one Wyckoff couple stood ready with a reno big on style and function.

By Donna Rolando Design by Sharon Sherman Photography by

Mike Van Tassell

No longer cramped and burdened by crossing traffic patterns, this whiteand-navy kitchen with stainless-steel appliances is bigger and better suited to cooking than before. A traditional island would have robbed the kitchen of needed space, so an antique table takes center stage on the hardwood floors.

A Wyckoff couple’s kitchen was a magnet for foot traffic, much of which had nothing to do with the dinner bell. In fact, feet came scurrying through the chef’s domain in this Cape Cod kitchen for all kinds of reasons and proved to be so distracting a remedy had to be part of the room’s redesign.

“We were tasked with creating a space that would provide a great kitchen design and redirect the traffic pattern around the working area of the kitchen,” says Sharon Sherman of Wyckoff-based Thyme & Place Design.

Before the remodel began in November 2019, the cottage-style kitchen was what homeowner Marin calls “an awkward, 3-footwide L-shape.” Thanks to Sherman’s vision and with a hand from Veenstra & Sons contractors, the room became more of an inviting rectangle.

First, Sherman moved the livingroom door and replaced it with a hinged French style for extra light. Now a double oven and prep area have space free of another problem: side-door and garage congestion.

“One of the biggest surprises to me was how small changes, such as moving a wall just a few inches, had a huge payoff,” says Marin. She credits Sherman with not only the creative imagination of a good designer, but “magic math” that maximized their investment with ingenious use of space. “Sharon knew where those investments would pay off and helped allocate our budget accordingly.”

Good thing, because Marin and her husband, George, both longtime Wyckoff residents, knew when they moved into the house in 2019 that they’d have to deal with design challenges. They also wanted to preserve the character of this older home, which had all the makings of a happy nest for the couple and, at times, two grown children.

Right off the couple’s wish list, the reimagined space contains a small wet bar for the Mr. and a breakfast nook. In Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy, these built-ins

This page: The kitchen’s redesign made room for a small wet bar with XO beverage center and glass-doored wall cabinet in Hale Navy. Opposite page: This custom hutch is more than fetching with its marbled gray mosaic; it also provides needed pantry space.

provide the perfect contrast to white cabinetry with ash-gray hardware. An oval window accents the eating area, where the hutch checks off another wish: pantry storage. Nearby, a pocket door safely closes off the basement stairs—yes, this too was on the list.

For the backsplash above the quartzite countertops, Marin picked out two complementary styles. She loves the sparkle of the ceramic subway tile by Bedrosians’ Cloe against the white cabinets and how this charm is echoed in the marbled gray mosaic paired with the navy. Because the cook doesn’t want to miss all the action, another highlight is the “look through,” which gives the kitchen a view of the family room and backyard.

“There’s nothing like a pandemic to make you cook a lot, and I was so thankful to have a great kitchen,” says Marin.

One year later, in October 2020, it was the master bathroom’s turn to shine. Again, Sherman conquered tight space with expansion, this time into the master bedroom.

In a true win-win, the bedroom gained a bigger walk-in closet and the bathroom an elevated look Marin calls “traditional and contemporary at the same time.” In this marriage of contrasts, the double-bowl custom vanity goes glam with crystal knobs, while the spacious shower shows off its classic subway tile through a sleek frameless door.

Topped with quartz for a clean look, the cabinetry met its perfect partner in the basketweave porcelain floors. Sconce lights of polished chrome flank a recessed medicine cabinet to complete the style.

If necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps it should get some credit for inspiring this dream redo for this family’s new chapter. But Marin thinks success had a lot to do with her designer and her “magic math.”

“Each phase was done on time, and on budget,” she says. “There is such value in working with a tight-knit, professional, experienced team.”

This page: Spacious is how this Wyckoff family thinks of their new shower after a master bath reno. Sherman shaved space from the master bedroom, which also gained a bigger walk-in closet. Opposite page: Homeowner Marin marvels at the room’s contemporary and traditional elements: a custom vanity with crystal knobs, basketweave tile floors and polished chrome sconces. The room now gets high marks for lighting and storage.